


Kilbisam

by rainbowhelianthi



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Blood, Castes system, Civil War, F/F, F/M, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Original Universe, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Some fluff sometimes, Swearing, woohoo im excited for this!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2019-10-12 08:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 37,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17464118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowhelianthi/pseuds/rainbowhelianthi
Summary: The once-peaceful kingdom of Sokhdom is now ravaged by a civil war: on one side, a corrupt government who clings to an oppressive caste system, and on the other side, a rebellion who does not hesitate to resort to violence to oppose the government.My-Khanh, former member of the nobility, lives in the jungle with her brother Hau. And when little princess Vanna comes into their lives, she decides it's time to take action to change this war.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Character refs are here: https://toyhou.se/arctic-skies/characters/folder:479681

The full moon shone brightly over the jungle. Tiny white stars dotted the ink-black sky and a light breeze made the canopy of leaves rustle. It was past midnight, and yet the air was rather warm. Overall, it was a quiet and peaceful night in the Khuam province.

Until a chorus of yowling echoed on the other side of the river.

It made a cat flinch. She was sitting on a tree branch near the top, and she had been staring at the moon for a while. Her body was tall and sleek, with a long and thin face and large ears. And while she was mostly white, her legs, tail, face and ears were a soft brown colour: the moonlight filtering through the leaves dappled her pelt with silver. She also wore a necklace with a round, blue stone that shone brightly even though it was mostly dark. She sighed and rubbed her eyes with a paw, her shoulders hunched over and her slender tail wrapped around her paws. 

“My-Khanh?”

She turned around with a jolt at the mention of her name: and on a lower branch stood another cat, who looked very much like her. His pale blue eyes shone with worry.

“Hau? What are you doing up at this hour?” My-Khanh asked.

Hau grinned. “I could ask you the same question.”

The other cat smiled softly and beckoned him with her tail. “I can’t sleep.” She turned her head towards the source of the noise, which was still resonating loudly. “Living so close to the Sogan border keeps the officials from coming, but...the sound of the rebels training is never-ending.”

She sighed and Hau nodded in agreement. He then looked away, a look of sadness settling on his face.

“To be honest...that’s not the only reason I’m awake.

\- What’s wrong?”

The young cat went quiet. His large ears drooped and his face darkened: as he rose his head to face the moon, his eyes were glistening with sorrow.

“Do you think...do you think Mum can still see us, from up there?”

The question was met with silence. His sister’s pale green eyes followed Hau’s as she looked up at the sky once again.

“I think so. I...I like to think she’s protecting us, too.” she answered in a hushed voice.

Her brother leaned on her shoulder, his body relaxing as he let out a sigh. My-Khanh wrapped her tail around him comfortingly and licked the top of his head to try and soothe him. He smiled and purred softly. She did the same.

It had been too long since they had been on their own.

“Come on,” she said as she nudged him. “Let’s try and get some sleep.”

The siblings hopped off the branch and vanished beneath the moonlit leaves.

 

\----

 

Sunkang City. The biggest city in the kingdom of Sokhdom. Well...the  _ only  _ city in the kingdom of Sokhdom. It was still huge, though. It was built a long time ago on top of a hill and around the Chay river, and it was still standing strong. Even the numerous, crumbling slums of the sudras and untouchables. The latter were the lowest castes on the scale, the most hated and rejected by the higher ones. And as such, they were only given the most fragile or unsanitary homes. Fires often broke out there, and a lot of buildings collapsed, leaving a lot of cats dead. But did anyone care? No. Nobody cared about the tiny, worthless lives of sudras and worse, untouchables. The slums were more present on the outer side of the city, while the most prestigious homes lined the biggest avenue of the city, the one that led to the resplendent Royal Palace. These were mostly inhabited by vaishyas and kshatriyas. Vaishyas were the middle caste, the one that every untouchable and sudra sought to befriend, and the caste that groveled at the feet of the higher ones. They often acted as the merchants and the link between the lower and higher castes. And rumour had it that sometimes (rarely), a vaishya could become a kshatriya. But the one who had spread that rumour, well…

Then came the kshatriyas. The  _ nobles _ . The “haughty assholes”, as many would call them. The Royal Palace was absolutely  _ packed  _ with them. Of course, they held the highest positions of power, such as military officers, head of the guards or even better: Chancellor. But that is a topic for another day.

And then, on very top of the scale: the brahmins. There were only a select few cats who were part of this caste and you could count them very easily: they were only the current monarchs, their offspring and the Grand Priestess. And all of them lived in one grand place: the Royal Palace.

And out that Palace and down the avenue came a small cat.

She was fluffy and golden, and your mood would brighten just by looking at her. Her face and ears were a darker shade of golden, as well as her tail and legs, but these two were tipped with lovely white. Small spots were also scattered on her back, as if pale golden rain had fallen on her when she had been born. She bounced towards the exit of the city and she would answer to each cat who would greet her: “Hi sir! I hope you’re having a great day!”, “Your flowers look lovely, miss!” or even “Wow that food looks delicious!” and the like left the inhabitants with a pleased smile and their spirits lifted.  In other words, this little cat was an absolute ray of sunshine.

Soon enough her paws took her to the large strip of grey concrete before the Chay. The small cat stood on the bank, her ears pricked and her green eyes wide with wonder, staring into the jungle. She had been told the lush forest was full of beautiful things like butterflies and flowers, and she was dying to see them. And since this was her day out, why not go check them out? 

She leapt over the river, landed on soft earth and let out a squeal of surprise and delight, since she had rarely felt that kind of earth and it was rather pleasant. A huge smile lit her face up and she bounded into the forest. She was small, and that allowed her long fur not to get caught in the branches and roots that she passed by. The air was fresher there, as well as the temperature.

_ Living under all those trees sure must be nice! _ she thought.

The jungle sounded as active as the vaishya parts of Sunkang City: wherever she went, the little cat could hear the shuffling of tiny paws, a bird’s cry, the splash of a small animal diving in the river. The earth felt soft and malleable, which felt weird to the cat who was used to the grey concrete of the city and the wooden planks of the palace. And most important of all: so many smells! So many different scents coming from everywhere! Flowers, small animals, moss, water, bark, everything at once!

She didn’t notice the rustling of the bushes near her as she passed by.

However someone else did: up in a tree, a tall colourpoint cat had his pale blue eyes fixed on the visitor. His tail flicked with worry. He felt like he had seen this cat somewhere before, but he couldn’t quite place where. And since someone was following her, maybe he wasn’t the only one with that impression.

_ Let’s...just make sure she’s safe. _

He jumped over to the next tree, landing clumsily on a branch but still maintaining his balance. The little cat had stopped and was looking at a flower with huge eyes. He could  _ still _ see the leaves rustling near her. He braced himself for another jump, to get closer to her just in case-

And he slipped off.

He landed with an ungraceful thump behind the golden cat, and she screeched in surprise.

“Sorry, sorry!” he apologized. He fought for his breath, since the impact had knocked the air out of him. “I didn’t mean to scare you! I just- I slipped off my branch, I’m sorry!”

_ Oof. Thank goodness it wasn’t that high up, _ he thought.

She eyed him curiously, her fur still fluffed up in surprise. “It’s...it’s alright, I’m kinda clumsy too!” She decided she would trust this cat. Someone who was  _ that _ clumsy sure was trustworthy, right? So she sat down and smiled brightly. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Hau,” he answered as he flicked the leaves off his pelt with his paw. “What about you?

\- My name’s Vanna!”

Hau  _ swore _ he had heard rustling again. The fur along his spine pricked uneasily.

“Well, uh…” he glanced at the bush behind him. “What are you doing here, Vanna? It’s...kind of dangerous around here.

\- Is it?” she asked, ears pricking. “I’ve been told it’s fine as long as I don’t go into Sogan.”

The thin cat’s tail waved uncomfortably. Someone was watching them. He wasn’t completely sure, but almost. They needed to get out of here before something happened.

“Hey, uh...Do you want to visit Sogan? I live there with my sister and...it’s  _ way _ safer.

\- Sure!” Vanna’s eyes lit up. “I’ve also been told that Khuam is super pretty!

\- It sure is!” He stood up and looked behind him again. Nothing. “Well, uh...follow me!”

The golden cat nodded, still smiling and walked next to her new guide and friend. Hau glanced at the leaves  _ one last time _ , and then he and Vanna vanished in the undergrowth. 

Blue eyes flashed under the bush. They belonged to a massive, battle-scarred cat who left the place with a grunt. 

 

As soon as they stepped into good old familiar Khuam, Hau relaxed. No dangerous cat would be following them here. 

Next to him, Vanna was looking around with enormous eyes. He could understand her easily: he, too, was shaken by the province’s beauty at first. It was wild and mostly untouched, so lush and bright plants grew everywhere. Huge, multicoloured flowers were scattered everywhere, gentle vines hung from the strong branches, and the roots’ bark felt incredibly soft. Small birds dashed by, crying out to their fellow avian friends or just singing. The golden cat looked like she could run off anywhere to explore further, but her guide often let his tail rest on her shoulders to remind her to stay close to him. What if she crossed the river again, into Sogan? A shiver ran along his spine to the mere thought of it.

Soon enough, both cats ducked under a root and arrived to a clearing. Soft sunlight filtered through the leaves, leaving the ground dappled with golden and green. Vanna’s eyes grew wider and sparkled with awe.

“Wow! This is where you live? It’s beautiful! Look at all these lights! I sure don’t get that back home!”

The other cat laughed. “Yes, it’s really pretty. It’s also very peaceful and calm.

\- Hau, who are you talking to?”

Hau spun around and saw his sister emerging from a nearby bush. He lifted his ears and smiled at her.

“There you are!” He turned to Vanna. “Vanna, this is my sister My-Khanh. My-Khanh, this is Vanna, and I found her walking around the border with Sogan.

\- Oh, I see. You brought her here to keep her safe?” He nodded. “Alright then, welcome to our humble home, Vanna.” She smiled softly, then paused. Her pink nose twitched. “Forgive me for asking, but...do you have any ties to the royal family? You smell...sort of familiar.”

The golden cat smiled her brightest smile and her tail swished happily. “Yeah, I do! The king’s my dad!”

Both siblings’ eyes widened. They glanced at each other and Hau blurted out:

“The king has  _ another _ daughter?

\- Why do you ask?” Vanna pricked her ears curiously. “Do you know him?

\- No, not him, but we knew your-

\- How about we show you around?” My-Khanh cut her brother off, and he gave her a playfully outraged look. “You look like you want to go on an adventure.”

The small cat instantly jumped on her paws, her fur fluffing up in excitement.

“Yes! Yes please!

\- Let’s go then.”

The colourpoint pointed towards the exit with her tail and Vanna dashed past them and outside the clearing. The siblings laughed, but before they left, Hau gave his sister a questioning look. She sighed.

“I...don’t want to talk about that.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

Vanna yelled for them to come quick, and they left their home with amused smiles.

 

What seemed like merely minutes later, the three cats were walking back to the clearing when they noticed the shadows cast by the trees and leaves were getting longer. My-Khanh looked up.

“Oh, the sun’s setting already.

\- It’s already that late?” Vanna exclaimed. “I have to go home, or else Mum and Dad will be worried!”

Hau tensed, and shook his head fervently. My-Khanh seemed to understand, and she laid her tail on the little cat’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry, but they’ll have to wait. It’s dangerous, even for us to leave Khuam at night.” She shivered at the thought of Vanna, a  _ princess _ , wandering around alone at night, so close to… “It’s better if you stay with us tonight.

\- Oh, really, can I? That’s so nice of you, thank you!”

They stepped in the clearing, and the leaves were slowly darkening around them. It would be dark before they knew it. My-Khanh immediately headed for an opening under some thick roots and slid into it, quickly followed by Hau and a curious Vanna. Inside, it was already almost pitch black but surprisingly fresh. The guest blinked a few times to get used to the darkness, and saw My-Khanh tearing a chunk of moss from the ground and as she gave it to Hau, he started kneading it into a circular shape.

“You can sleep here, with us,” she told her. “It’s probably not as comfy as your home, but…

\- It’s alright! It’s part of the adventure anyway, right?”

The white and brown cat nodded. Her brother gave the moss one last tap and he stepped away from it.

“Here you go! A fresh nest for the princess.

\- Thank you so much! You’re all so nice!”

She settled into the nest and after wiggling a bit, tucked her white paws under her body neatly and wrapped her thick tail around her.

“Goodnight!”

The siblings wished her a good night and exited the den. The sky was still slightly pink, but it was clear the sun had already set. The clouds were tinted purple and red, and the noise of the diurnal jungle gradually quieted down, and quickly replaced by the nocturnal creaking and hooting. As My-Khanh sat down, Hau stretched himself and yawned widely.

“Why did you bring her here again?” the female asked. “Not that I mind, of course, she’s adorable. But you looked pretty frightened when you brought her.”

Her brother sighed, and sat up.

“Well...I was hunting, and I saw her passing by, and I...I thought I saw someone following her. I don’t know who that was but...just in case…”

She nodded, her face pensive.

“It could’ve been a rebel. Is that what you thought?

\- Exactly.

\- It wouldn’t surprise me if it  _ was _ a rebel. You did the right thing, Hau. But tomorrow we’re taking her back to the doors of Sunkang, alright?

\- Sure, I’ll take care of that.”

My-Khanh opened her mouth, as if she were going to protest, but her brother cut her off.

“We’ll be okay, don’t worry! You don’t have to come. Seriously, it’s fine!” he added as her face looked gradually more worried. “Trust me, we’ll leave  _ really early _ so that they’ve just gone to bed or something. Alright?”

She didn’t answer for a moment, but then she nodded. “Alright.”

 

“And this is where we part, Vanna!”

Hau and Vanna stood on the strip of hard, black ground in front of Sunkang City. The golden cat looked happy, both at the thought of going back home and of her fresh memory of beautiful Khuam. She turned to face her new friend, and she smiled up at him brightly.

“Thanks, Hau! For everything! You and My-Khanh are really,  _ really _ nice! You’re the best!

\- Thank you!” He nudged the princess with a smile. “Now go, your parents must be worried sick!

\- Yeah, I bet they are! Bye Hau! I promise I’ll come back soon!”

She bounced off towards the entrance of the city, waved her paw at Hau and ran off towards the palace.

The colourpoint stared at her for a moment, making sure she didn’t turn back or anything, then turned around and jumped over the river-

Only to immediately collide with My-Khanh.

“My-Khanh?” He meowed. “Don’t tell me you followed us all the way here?”

His sister looked like she had just been caught eating someone else’s food. Her short fur pricked indignantly.

“I was worried! With those rebels walking around, it could’ve been dangerous, they could’ve hurt you or-

\- Hey, hey!” He slapped his paw on her mouth. “It’s alright, we did just fine!” He smiled at her. “Let’s go home now, okay?

\- Okay.” She sighed. “I”m just glad you made it safely.

\- You worry too much, sis.”

The siblings vanished in the bushes, back into the cover of the jungle and away from prying eyes.

Prying,  _ blue _ eyes.

“You’re right. This could be very useful to us.”

A low voice emerged from the trees. The same battle-scarred cat from the last day looked up, where a sleek, pale blue cat lay. The morning light cast a dark shadow over her, one that almost made her invisible against the branches and the leaves. Her purple gaze had followed the trail of the little princess with intense interest. She frowned.

“Khang needs to know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and it begins!!! sorry there wasn't. much action. and a bunch of exposition. but!! i hope you enjoyed it anyway!! i've been developing this story for about a year and a half and i've been dying to share it!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> loads of exposition ahead. also vanna is terribly naive and writing her HURTS

_It’s already past midday. Mum and Dad and Hanhvy must be worried sick!_

Vanna had turned to a smaller street on the side of the large avenue, her paws barely touching the ground as she hurried on. A moment later, she hopped over some rubble lying around, quickly noticing the demolished building not far from her. It looked like it had just caved in, and several cats were huddled together around a body. The princess slowed to a stop and lowered her ears sadly.

_Poor people...I wish I could help them._

One of them raised their head. As their eyes met Vanna’s, their gaze flared with anger so fierce it almost swept the golden cat off her feet.

“What?” they hissed. “Here to watch the shitshow?

\- Be quiet,” another cat said, their voice a husky whisper.

\- Get out of here, you brahmin scum!”

She took a few steps back, her eyes wide with shock. Why was this cat being so mean with her? Her family wasn’t scum! They were the king and queen- they ruled over Sokhdom with kindness and nothing else! The other cat gave their companion a swipe on the cheek with an angry meow. They then turned their tired eyes to Vanna.

“It’s best if you leave, princess. I’m sorry about him.”

She nodded and turned around. She headed into another street, this time a clean and shiny one: this was a sign that she was almost home. But her tail trailed on the floor sadly and her ears drooped. She didn’t like being yelled at. She liked it even less when she didn’t understand why.

Why did that cat call her “brahmin scum”? Sure, she _was_ a brahmin. But that didn’t mean she was a bad person, on the contrary! Brahmins always were the caste of the monarchs. And they were kind and empathetic people, who ruled over their kingdom fairly! They even had the power to make final decisions regarding laws or decrees. So even if the Parliament or the Chancellor was being unfair, her parents could change that! So, what was the problem?

She shook her head. _What’s the use of thinking about that now? Maybe I’ll just ask Dad later,_ the little cat thought. Her nose twitched: a strong flowery scent had wafted from her left, and she squealed as she recognized the edge of the Palace’s gardens. Vanna bounced towards the stone walls surrounding them, her gaze darting around in search of her entrance. And there it was: a little hole in the middle of the bricks, large enough for her to squeeze through but clearly too small for a full-grown cat. She pushed her head into it and wriggled her body in order to slide through - _is this getting harder because I’m getting bigger?_ she wondered as she felt the bricks digging a bit deeper into her ribs - and crashed quite unceremoniously on the other side. She instantly bounded back on her feet, her ears twitching excitedly and eyes sparkling.

_Home!_

The golden cat dashed through the luxurious garden, dodging the low-hanging branches of the willows and the fluttering butterflies, hopping over the crystalline puddles and the soft grass…

...and almost getting kicked in the head at the foot of a tree.

“Vanna! Where the hell were you?”

Her reflexes allowed her to duck just in time to avoid a purple mass of fur rushing towards her.

“I was out in Khuam and I lost track of time and- hey stop!”

This time, the other cat had managed to furiously lick Vanna’s head.

“Stop it Hanhvy, you’re not my mum!

\- Thank goodness I’m not,” she scoffed.

Hanhvy: daughter of the king, heir princess and also Vanna’s sister. Her fur was a pale purple, darker in some places like her face, ears and tail, and her chest and paws were a clean white. Her back and tail were dotted by spots that looked a lot like Vanna’s. She also wore a necklace with a night-blue stone.

“So uh, what was that for?

\- Hey, you’re the one who popped out of nowhere while I was training?

\- Ohh, I get it, you were fighting against trees again!”

Hanhvy rolled her sky-blue eyes.

“Hey, stop making it sound so dumb. It’s actually really helpful to strengthen and sharpen your claws, look-” she raised her paw to prove her point, only to realize blood was trickling between her pads. “Well, shit. How was Khuam anyway?” she asked as she started licking the blood clean.

\- It was really cool! The trees and the plants were really pretty, and it was really sunny, but less hot than here!

\- Damn. I’d do anything for somewhere I can walk around without melting my ass off.

\- Hey, language! And there are leaves everywhere, way more than here, and-

\- Vanna? Is that you?”

The violet cat let out a groan and she took her eyes off her sister, suddenly looking extremely busy with cleaning her torn claw. A fluffy cat, her golden fur just a shade darker than Vanna’s, burst out of the bushes and upon seeing the small cat, smiled brightly.

“There you are!”

She hurried to her side and started licking her head, cheeks, shoulders, back…

“Mum! Stop it!” Vanna protested.

\- Where have you been? Your father and I have been worried sick about you! You left for a _whole day_!”

Hanhvy gave her sister an amused glance as she pouted. The mother looked up from her daughter, and as she caught sight of Hanhvy’s paw, she gasped.

“Hanhvy, dear, your paw! Are you alright? You need-

\- I’m _fine_.” she hissed, withdrawing her paw.

The cat’s turquoise eyes glittered with worry, and it looked like she was going to say something as she opened her mouth, but she quickly closed it and looked at her daughter again. The purple cat huffed and went back to cleaning.

“You are coming with me, young miss. You need to get ready for tonight, and right now you look like you’ve had a marathon in a swamp!

\- What’s happening tonight?

\- Oh, right, _that,_ ” Hanhvy meowed, blinking in realization. “Welp, gotta go. Bye Vanna!”

She took off towards the Palace, and the small golden cat waved her sister goodbye. She looked up towards her mother with an intrigued look which quickly turned to worry as she saw her mother’s features covered in sadness.

“Mummy, what’s wrong?

\- Oh,” her mother blinked a few times and shook her head. “Nothing, darling. Don’t worry.

\- Queen Tuyet, are you there?” A voice sounded. Probably one of the guards.

\- Yes, I am,” she meowed in response. “Please tell the King that Vanna is back and I’ll be preparing her for tonight.

\- Of course, Your Majesty.”

The fading sound of pawsteps indicated the guard had left.

  
  


_Wow, this place is beautiful!_

Vanna and her mother had just stepped in the ballroom, which was alight with golden candles. The large mirrors hanging on the walls reflected the soft light and only enhanced the beauty of the rich ornaments and crisp white walls of marble. The floor, albeit cold, felt smooth and soft under the princess’ paws and she couldn’t help but gaze down at her reflection. It was so clean and shiny she could see every detail of her face! Looking up, she saw an enormous chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Its crystal branches caught every drop of light that was emitted by the small candles placed on them ( _How did they even get there?_ ), and at its centre was a round, indigo blue stone: the colour of the brahmin caste.

Tuyet nudged her distracted daughter softly and beckoned her to follow her with her tail. They made their way across the room, earning some respectful nods and greetings along the way, and finally got to an especially large mirror which was lined with gold and blue. Its edges were finely sculpted into different types of flowers (Vanna swore she’d already seen some of them in the garden and in Khuam) and what looked like noble and respectable cats. And in front of the mirror sat a large cat with burgundy fur, his fluffy tail wrapped around his paws. At the sight of Tuyet and Vanna, his bright orange eyes lit up with joy.

“Tuyet, Vanna, there you are!”

The queen purred and sat down next to her husband. They touched noses briefly, then the male turned to the small cat.

“Vanna my dear, I heard you visited Khuam yesterday. How was it? Awesome?

\- Yeah it was! It was super pretty and cool, and there were so many flowers and plants and I even met some nice people!

\- That’s great!” he meowed as he playfully headbutted her. “My little girl’s already a great adventurer!”

The golden cat squealed and tried to swipe at her father’s face, but he quickly ducked out of the way with a smile.

“Anyway, uh...why are we here again? I asked Mum but she was too busy cleaning me up.”

Tuyet faked an offended look which made the king laugh.

“It’s an old tradition. The Parliament, the current monarchs as well as the Royal Guard and the most important members of our society meet here to usually discuss a lot of different matters, but in a more friendly setting. But to be honest, these nights privilege having a bit of fun over serious work.

\- How professional.”

The voice came from Hanhvy, who had just appeared at her father’s side. Her fur was clean and so was her paw, which barely showed any signs of it having bled. She sat next to the king and gave him a teasing glance.

“Good evening, Hanhvy!” he said, smiling brightly. “I’m happy you could make it tonight.

\- Wouldn’t miss Vanna’s first time here for the world.”

The little cat let out a happy cry and tackled her sister, who took the hit without any effort. Hanhvy patted her head with a small laugh. The king’s orange eyes softened at the sight of his two daughters, and when he turned to face his wife, he noticed she shared the same happy look, but there was a hint of sadness to it. He touched the top of her head with his nose reassuringly, and after she shook her head the sadness was gone.

“Good evening, Your Majesties.”

Hanhvy’s face instantly turned sour. She lashed her tail and stood straight, narrowing her eyes slightly.

A cat was coming towards them. He was tall and thin, his brown-grey fur smooth and sleek and his blue eyes were calm. His long and fine ears, his moustache-shaped white marking on his muzzle as well as the thick mane of pale fur around his neck made him stand out, but the two round drops of gold on his ears and the awe-filled looks was what told you he was a special cat. The king smiled at him

“Good evening, Chancellor!

\- King Quan-Van,” the cat dipped his head as greetings. “Queen Tuyet.” he repeated the gesture, then turned to the two sisters. “Princess Vanna, Princess Hanhvy.

\- Hi Chancellor Sahn!”

Hanhvy didn’t reply. Instead, she glared at the cat, her blue eyes burning with distrust. She tried to puff out her chest to seem taller, but she was short and the Chancellor was slightly taller than average, so that was a lost battle. Her glare only doubled in intensity. If he noticed her hostility, he didn’t show it and smiled politely.

“How has your training been, Your Majesty? Good, I suppose?

\- Good enough.”

She left no room for him to reply as she stormed off.

“Wait for me!” Vanna squealed as she dashed after her sister, her tail fluffed up in surprise.

Sahn watched the two princesses go, his gaze even and ears pricked. He slid a look towards the monarchs.

“Ever the diplomat, that one.

\- Oh Chancellor, Hanhvy might be a piece of work,” Quan-Van replied lightheartedly, “but her mother was a thousand times worse than that!

\- Oh yes, yes she was.” the tall cat replied with a laugh.

 

“Hanhvy!”

Vanna had skidded to a halt next to her sister, who had abruptly stopped and sat down in front of a window. She stepped outside on the balcony, inhaled deeply and let out a breath through her gritted teeth.

“I can’t stand that snobbish asshole.

\- Yeah, I can tell!” Vanna answered, sitting down with a thump. “Why though? He seems nice.”

The purple cat hissed, the fur along her spine pricking in anger.

“Hah, right. He’s _so nice_ he barely lets sudras and untouchables have more than three representatives combined! Truly, the nicest soul around.”

Vanna just blinked quickly. Her eyes were round with confusion, and Hanhvy shook her head as she noticed her sister’s silence.

“Sorry, I forgot you don’t understand everything that’s going on.

\- Can you explain it to me?” the smaller cat piped up. “I’d like to know!

\- Sure,” her gaze softened as she spoke, but immediately went back to an angry glare in the Chancellor’s general direction. “As you know, we live in a society divided by castes. You and I are brahmins, the highest caste, royalty. We, along with kshatriyas who are just below us, are very privileged. Below kshatriyas are vaishyas, who you don’t see often around here, then there are sudras and untouchables.”

Some cat’s head whipped around and stared at the princess with wide, shocked eyes. She simply hissed in response, and the cat yelped and scampered away.

“People around here don’t like sudras and untouchables. They think they’re completely worthless, since they’re the lowest castes.

\- But…” Vanna’s head tilted sideways. “Doesn’t Mum always tell me that every life is a valuable one?

\- It’s true, but not to them. And that’s completely stupid, because the soldiers that protect our borders, clean our city and bury our dead are cats of those two castes.” She shook her head, tail lashing in frustration. “Anyway. Our country is a constitutional monarchy, which means us, the monarchs, lead the country but we also have a Parliament which limits our powers and allow the people to speak their minds and collaborate with us.

\- That’s great!

\- In theory. Each caste, save for the brahmins, has a number of representatives that carries the will of their caste and will represent them in the Parliament. And while we’re technically supposed to have an even number of representatives per caste...that doesn’t happen. The kshatriyas have about ten representatives, while the sudras have two and the untouchables only have one.”

Vanna’s eyes widened, but she looked even more confused than before.

“Why? That doesn’t make sense!

\- When senseless stuff like that happens, the Chancellor is supposed to step in and right the wrongs, you know? Logic. But he doesn’t. Because he doesn’t care. All he cares about is power and being in charge. And that drives me so fucking-”

She was interrupted by Quan-Van suddenly stepping between them.

“Hanhvy! Quit scaring your sister like that!

\- I’m not scaring her, I’m-

\- Come, I have some people I want you to meet.

\- But-”

Her father pushed her away from Vanna and almost unbalanced her. She sighed and gave a lighthearted swipe at his face, but followed him - she didn’t really have a choice anyway. Before vanishing in the crowd however, she flicked her tail at her sister, signalling that this conversation would continue later. The little cat nodded in response, Hanhvy smiled and her fur disappeared inbetween the other cats.

Vanna, now standing alone in the middle of the crowd, stood up and looked around in search of familiar faces. The sight of two young cats made her ears swivel happily: the first had pale blue fur and was tall and thin while the other one was slightly shorter with long, soft fur. They looked like they were conversing quietly. The golden cat trotted towards them, her tail standing straight up.

“Hey Thuy! Kunthea! Hi!”

The taller cat’s head jerked up, looking surprised that someone had called him. The shorter cat followed his gaze, and her gentle orange eyes lit up as they met Vanna’s.

“Hi! How are you?” Kunthea asked.

“I’m fine! What about you two?

\- Good,” Thuy replied with a dip of his head. “How was it yesterday?

\- Great! I saw a lot of cool stuff! The jungle is ‘wow’ levels of pretty!

\- ‘Wow’ levels? Okay, that sounds nice,” the thin cat said with a smile.

\- Did you see…” Kunthea seemed to be searching for a word. “...rebels?

\- Rebels?” she tilted her head sideways. “Uh...no, I don’t think so?”

The long-furred cat flinched slightly and stared at her paws, as if she felt guilty for asking that question. _Quick, Vanna, change the subject!_ she thought.

“Oh! Where’s Miu?

\- She got in trouble, _again_ ” Thuy emphasised the last word with a roll of his eyes. “So she was forbidden from coming.

\- Tell her I said hi!”

Thuy, Kunthea and Miu were siblings. They were extremely close, since the three of them were orphaned. They also belonged to the vaishya caste, which clearly didn’t make their case easier since they all lived at the Palace, a place swarming with kshatriyas. Besides, their only known family was…

“Hey, you two!”

Thuy flinched and wrinkled his nose in frustration. He laid his tail on his sister’s shoulder gently, who raised her head with surprise and _fear_ in her eyes. She quickly went back to studying her paws.

A massive, long-furred female cat was heading their way. Everything about her screamed hostile and unfriendly: her numerous scars on her body, her massive paws where you could see the tip of her glinting claws, and even her brown and white fur looked like she had torn it off an opponent and was wearing their hide as a trophy. She stopped beside Vanna, who felt awfully small next to her. She glared at the siblings with harsh green eyes and said with a rumbling voice:

“Go away. You’re bothering the princess.”

Thuy flattened his ears against his skull. He tried maintaining eye contact with the cat, but her fierce glare made him turn away quickly. Kunthea still didn’t dare look up.

“They’re...they’re really not, Marshall Tam.”

Tam’s head whipped around in surprise, almost as if she had forgotten that Vanna was, literally, just there, and that she was berating the siblings because she was, literally, just there.

“You can’t possibly enjoy being around these…” she narrowed her eyes as she looked at the two young cats, who didn’t meet her gaze. “these scum.

\- But I do!” Vanna’s voice rose, a shrill cry of indignation. “They’re really nice! And they’re also-

\- It’s okay, Princess,” Thuy’s voice came out as barely more than a quiet plea.

The princess blinked in astonishment and the huge cat huffed. She padded away without saying another word, leaving a trail of surprised or curious looks from other cats in her wake. Thuy gave his sister a gentle nuzzle on the top of her head, and she rested her head on her brother’s shoulder.

“How can you let her insult you like this?” Vanna asked, completely dumbfounded.

The thin cat grimaced. “It’s not like we have a choice. She’s literally the most respected soldier in the whole country. Head of the military. We’re just...vaishyas.” He went quiet for a second, then murmured, “at least Kunthea doesn’t have to hear it.”

Indeed: Kunthea was deaf. Barely anyone could tell though, since she spoke with barely any accent and could hold a conversation flawlessly. However, Vanna had heard rumours that this had posed a great problem to Tam, who had taken care of them since they were here. Well…”taken care of” was a big word.

A gentle voice emerged from behind the princess.

“Thuy? May I?”

Thuy’s head rose. He nodded, then nuzzled his sister gently towards the newcomer: she was noticeably bigger than both of them, but this time it was mostly because of her long, soft fur. Her striped, dark brown and white colours were a stark contrast against Kunthea’s pale fur, but still the little cat melted into the cat’s embrace. She started licking her head comfortably, and she flicked her tail to and fro. Sometimes, Kunthea would nod or let out a quiet whimper.

Vanna smiled. _At least someone’s nice to her. That’s great._

Thuy dipped his head respectfully, his eyes glinting with gratitude.

“Thank you, Head Priestess Sopheary.

\- I told you,” the fluffy cat replied, “just Sopheary is fine. And it’s only natural that I comfort my dearest student.”

Kunthea’s deafness had allowed her to enter the Order of the Priestesses easily, since she was female and any disability was always viewed as a way to better communicate with the spirits of the dead. Vanna didn’t know if she _did_ indeed communicate with the dead better, since ceremonies were kept secret, but it was probably true.

Sopheary’s dark blue eyes steered away from the little cat and rested on Vanna for a moment.

“You are Princess Hanhvy’s sister, are you not?” she asked.

Vanna’s ears pricked.

“Yeah, I am! Why?”

The head priestess hummed in response, her eyes growing pensive.

“No reason.”

 

Vanna could barely walk straight after the evening: she felt like she could fall asleep right there, right now, as she made her way to her room with her mother. She stumbled and tripped on her own paws, but barely had the energy to stand back up. Tuyet purred in amusement and helped her up by nuzzling her gently.

“Did you have a good time, darling?

\- Yep,” she replied with a yawn that showed her tiny teeth and pink tongue. “T’was reaaaally nice.

\- Great,” her mother purred.

A light flickered as they passed by a nearby room, which caught Vanna’s tired attention. Her heavy eyes widened as she saw who was inside, though.

“Hey Hanhvy!”

Hanhvy’s head swiveled around. She smiled when she saw the little golden cat, but frowned as she realized who was with her. Closing a heavy book with her paw, she stood on the table and ignored Vanna’s mother altogether.

“Hey Vanna, you look tired.

\- That’s because I am,” she answered, slurring her words slightly. “Hey, can I sleep in your room tonight?

\- Sure,” the lilac cat shrugged.

She beckoned her sister forward, but still didn’t meet Tuyet’s gaze. Vanna bid her mother goodbye by butting her head against her chest clumsily.

“‘night mum, have a good night, and all that.

\- Goodnight, my sweet princess.” her mother purred as she licked the top of her head.

She watched her daughter go and hoped to catch a glimpse of Hanhvy’s gaze to wish her a good night as well, but the other princess only looked back at Vanna. Tuyet sighed, then left.

And as the two sisters snuggled together in the warm room, just before Vanna sunk into sleep, she thought:

_Tomorrow I’ll go visit My-Khanh and Hau again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lots of new characters lol  
> brace yourselves bc new characters are yet to come!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before we begin, allow me to share the words of one of my friends: "vanna is that one character who immediately dies in horror movies i hope she'll survive a few more chapters"

“That’s very interesting.”

In the depths of the jungle, in the middle of the leaves swishing gently thanks to a cool night breeze, stood four cats. It was too dark to make out their shapes. All you could see was their eyes glowing in the shadows: one pair sky blue, another light purple, a single pale green one and a fierce, amber gaze. The latter looked like it was pondering something. It vanished for a moment, and after a moment, reappeared.

“Here’s my plan.”

The cat’s deep, rumbling voice dropped to a whisper. The others listened carefully, bending down to make sure they didn’t miss any words. Then they nodded in approval, and a massive shape stood up.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

The leaves rustled and a second later, the cats were gone.

 

\---------

 

The sun had risen over the city of Sunkang, and yet again, Vanna was leaving it and bounding towards the jungle. Her eyes glistened with excitement, and her fur was slightly fluffed up. Her mother had made sure she looked presentable, even though she was off to spend another day in Khuam, where no one would care what she looked like. She had tried making her point, really, but she just couldn’t argue against motherly overprotectiveness.

 _I’m going to spend the day rolling around in leaves and dirt anyway,_ she thought to herself. _What was the point?_

She hadn’t been able to speak to Hanhvy before leaving: her sister had already left for her day of training. The golden cat admired her so much. Hanhvy was already a tough cat, and her training in the military made her even tougher, not only because, well, _the military_ , but also because she had broken tradition in doing that. The eldest princess of Sokhdom was traditionally supposed to take over as head priestess, however Hanhvy absolutely _did not want_ to do that. Vanna hadn’t been born yet so she didn’t witness it, but apparently she had put up quite a fight before finally getting what she wanted. And according to her fellow trainees and some guards, she was a formidable warrior, so it was all good.

Vanna finally arrived at the bridge that connected the exit of Sunkang and the neutral stretch of land before Khuam and Sogan. Thankfully it was the only bridge that wasn’t broken, so she didn’t have to jump and risk falling in the river. She shivered at the thought of sinking in the angry, churning waters. Had that happened to anyone before? If so, had they survived? Those questions were left at the bridge as the small cat went under the gentle cover of the trees. A pleasing chill went down her spine as the cool shade engulfed her. The ground still felt as soft under her paws.

_I could live here forever and I wouldn’t mind!_

She walked a little farther but then stopped. She looked to her left, then to her right. She blinked. She remembered this place. But where had she gone next? She swore both ways in front of her looked the same. They could lead anywhere. She sat there and kept looking left and right. Left? Or right?

Her ears picked up the rustling of leaves a little too late.

 

“Did you hear that?”

I lifted my head as I heard a high-pitched scream ring through the jungle. I pivoted my ears so that I could locate the source of it, but all I heard was the popping noise my brother made as he took his head out of a bird’s den.

“Hear what?

\- That scream! It sounded close, but I can’t hear anything else now.”

The next scream was a loud cry for help, and this time he heard it. It also made him tense up.

“That’s...that’s Vanna!”

_Vanna? What is she doing here?_

“Quick, follow me!”

He dashed through the leaves and I followed, not losing sight of his brown, blurry tail.

He turned out to be right: the princess’ golden fur contrasted against the dark ground. However, I did not recognize the massive cat that was holding her to the ground. All I knew was that she had pale fur and smelled like…

“You’re coming with me, _princess,_ ” the cat snarled, spite lacing the last word. “I’m under strict order not to harm you but _scream again and see what happens._ ”

Her threatening voice rumbled in her throat and I couldn’t help a shiver from running down my spine.

“I...I think that’s a rebel,” my brother piped up. “She has some _nasty_ scars.

\- Oh then she definitely is,” I said, thanking my brother’s working eyesight for confirming my suspicions. “She smells like Sogan. What do we do?”

He looked up, his whiskers twitching.

“I have an idea.”

 

Vanna was _terrified._ The cat who had attacked her was straight up from her worst nightmares: a heavy, long-furred cat with huge scars on her face and one ear _completely torn off_. Her eyes were blue, but not like her mother’s gentle turquoise: more like the furious waters of the Chay. And right now, she was holding the little cat down with one of her massive paws and massive claws. The princess felt tears forming at the corner of her eyes. Was she going to die? Was she never going to see her parents, her sister and her friends again?

“Wh-what are you going to do to me?”

Her whole body shook with terror, and so did her tiny voice.

“None of your business,” she asserted. “For now, you just be a good little girl or else-”

She was cut off midsentence as a flash of pale fur fell on her back. That effectively knocked the air out of her for a moment that was long enough for a familiar voice to yell:

“Vanna, run!”

The scarred cat recovered from the surprise and fell on her flank to unbalance Hau. Meanwhile, My-Khanh burst out of the bushes behind Vanna.

“Come on, follow me!”

The little cat was too shocked to move, so the siamese grabbed her by the scruff to shake her up and both made a beeline for the safety of the undergrowth where the rebel couldn’t follow them. They both jumped over a narrow part of the river and landed safely in Khuam.

Meanwhile Hau had managed to _not_ get smashed by the other cat, who was absolutely furious. She got back up and growled fiercely. A shiver ran down Hau’s spine: he clearly could _not_ fight this massive, battle-ready _rebel_.

“I don’t know who you are, but _fuck you_.” she hissed.

She launched herself at the thin cat, whose immediate reaction was to flee. He slid under the cat while she jumped and ran in a different direction. As he ran, he could hear the thumping steps of the rebel following him, and his heartbeat skyrocketed. Thankfully, the river appeared soon and he leapt over it, landing in his home clumsily but out of the other cat’s sight. She skidded to a halt on the edge of the river, glared at the spot where Hau had disappeared and yelled:

“Don’t think this is over, _brat!_ I can and I _will_ wait for the princess here even if it takes all week!”

 

When they had arrived at the siamese siblings’ home, Vanna had collapsed on the ground and couldn’t stop shaking. The intense fear followed by the adrenaline of running away at full speed had been too much for her little body. My-Khanh had shuffled closer and wrapped her tail around her, licking her head reassuringly like she often did to her brother. The repeated motion and her calm presence eventually made the princess calm down, and she buried her face in her small paws. The taller cat brushed the tip of her tail against her shoulder reassuringly.

“It’s alright, you’re safe now. The rebels aren’t allowed to come here.

\- Are you sure?” she whined.

\- Certain.”

She drew in a shaky breath. The cat’s sudden hatred in the street the previous day had startled her, but this had gone beyond what she had ever been prepared for. _All I wanted was to see my friends and I...someone wanted to kidnap me!_

“Who was that cat?” she asked. “What did she want with me?

\- We...we think it was a rebel.”

My-Khanh didn’t answer her second question, instead, her pale green eyes avoided her gaze and her ears drooped. Only to immediately shoot up as she picked up a sound.

“Hau?”

The next moment, a flash of white and brown burst out of the bushes, followed by a _thump_ and heavy panting. He raised his paw to stop his sister before she could rush to his side.

“I’m fine, I’m fine! Just…” Hau took a deep breath, “...out of breath. Oh fuck-

\- Are you alright?” she was too worried to scold him for swearing in front of Vanna. “Did she hurt you?

\- Nope. Escaped...in time.” He slowly got to his paws, shaking a little from the effort but his breathing gradually going back to normal. “But...she _did_ say she would wait for Vanna until she came back.”

Silence fell upon the clearing. Vanna flinched and she folded her ears in fear. My-Khanh turned her head away, frowning in worry. Then the princess’ voice rose, barely louder than a mouse’s squeak:

“Will I...be able to go back home?”

Neither sibling replied. The question had dropped like a heavy stone in their belly, and guilt began clawing at their gut. Vanna had come to see them. It was partly their fault that she had been attacked.

“...I don’t think so.” My-Khanh’s voice came out as a whisper. “It’s too dangerous. They’re still waiting for you out there, and who knows what might happen…

\- Do you think...that they would kill me?”

With every question the little cat shrunk under her fur, almost as if she made herself the smallest she could, she would be able to sneak by the rebels unnoticed.

“They’re definitely capable of doing that,” the cat reached for the blue-stoned necklace and touched it gently with her paw as her eyes clouded. “Our mother...she was killed by them.”

Hau visibly flinched, and he lowered his head, ears drooping sadly. They barely remembered their mother, since she had been murdered when they had barely opened their eyes. All they recalled from her was a sweet, comforting presence and one last goodbye that My-Khanh often dreamt about. Almost as if she knew she was going to die. She often dismissed it as her imagination being too wild.

“These rebels often, if not only, kill cats of higher castes,” she continued. “And our mother, well...she was a kshatriya.”

Vanna tensed. _Oh no._ If they had killed a kshatriya, no, _several_ kshatriyas so ruthlessly, then she…

“You wouldn’t survive for more than a minute in their camp,” Hau finished.

His sister hissed at him for being so straight to the point. She didn’t want to scare the little cat with such a harsh truth. The smaller siamese shrugged sadly and the princess let out a whimper.

_Mum will be so worried...and Dad...and Hanhvy...and everyone…_

The tense silence went on for an awfully long while before a small voice broke it.

“My-Khanh...Do you remember what I told you the other day?”

Vanna blinked. Hau simply stared at his sister as he waited for a reply. His pale blue gaze was unreadable. The princess looked up at the taller cat, but she found no real reaction: she had narrowed her eyes and her whiskers twitched.

“I...have been thinking about it. And you’re right.” her head jerked up as she frowned. “Let’s do it.”

The golden cat stood abruptly, her tail lashing in irritation.

“Can you guys _please_ stop being so cryptic? What are you talking about?”

My-Khanh raised her head and their eyes met: Vanna almost flinched at the intensity in her gaze.

“You are aware of the civil war that is currently ongoing, right?”

The princess blinked several times and her eyes widened in shock.

“A...a _war?_ ” her voice shook. “I thought it was only a few harmless fights…”

She had never really been told about the war. Partly because her mother wanted to shield her from the atrocity of such a reality, but mostly because her father was still adamant that it was nothing but a minor uprising. And that was much to Hanhvy’s dismay and anger.

“It’s much more serious than just that,” Hau had sat up, and his voice was unusually serious. “People are dying. Rebels are raiding the richer parts of Sunkang and murdering officials and their families. On the other side, the Chancellor and his soldiers are killing every cat who is suspected of being a rebel. It's...urgh,” he wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Very bloody to say the least.”

_How come nobody ever told me about that?_

“Hau and I believe that the reason this war has turned this bad is faulty communication.”

My-Khanh had started walking in circles, her tail flicking left and right as she spoke with a firm voice.

“These issues could be solved quite easily if the two parties quieted down and talked it out. But the problem is the following: no one on either side wants to cooperate. We are led by kshatriyas who refuse to engage in talks with lower castes, and these castes have given up the hope of communicating. That's where Hau’s idea comes in.”

She gave her brother a look, as if asking for permission to say it, to which he nodded. Her gaze then slid to Vanna.

“What we need is a group of cats that come from various castes who are willing to act as the mediators between the two parties and who don’t take part in the conflict. Pacifists, if you will.

\- You mean that doesn’t exist yet?

\- No,” Hau put in with a humourless laugh. “Everyone’s so busy killing each other they forgot they have the ability to communicate.

\- And that’s where we come in,” the siamese jumped on a nearby tree root. “Since no one is willing to act as these Pacifists, _we_ will. For now, there’s only two of us, but I believe more cats will join our cause soon. Or at least I hope so.”

The golden cat blinked. That made sense to her.

“Vanna...do you want to join us?”

Her ears perked up at Hau’s question. He was looking at her with round, expecting eyes and behind him, his sister stared at her with an even gaze. There _was_ a spark of surprise in them, but also one of relief. It would considerably reassure her if she joined and stayed with them, since going back home was not safe and even _staying in her home_ wasn’t safe. At least here, no one could touch her.

“Well…” she murmured. “I mean...I can’t go home, but yeah! I want to join you guys! It just makes sense that we should talk to them instead of fighting!”

Both siblings’ faces lit up, and Hau gave his sister a soft smile, which she returned.

_And when I go back home, everyone will be so proud of me!_

 

There was a cat with dark red fur walking in the jungle. She had her eyes narrowed and looked deep in thought.

_These cats sure are idealistic._

She snapped out of her thoughts as a croaky voice called her.

“Over here, kid!”

A ragged grey cat sat in the shade of a large plant, right on the edge of the riverbank. One of his paws was dripping wet, a sign that he had tried to fish. His tired yellow eyes stared at the newcomer as she sat in front of him, her nose wrinkling at the strong stench of sickness.

“What took you so long? Did you bring any food, at least?

\- Quit yelling at me, old man,” she snapped. “No, I didn’t bring any food. Some cats were screaming about the war and scared the prey away.”

The old cat’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“What kind of cats? Rebels?

\- Nah,” she replied, stretching herself to get rid of the tension in her limbs. “Didn’t look like rebels. Too sophisticated. One of them even looked like the king and queen, so I’d assume she’s one of the princesses.

\- A princess?” his gaze darted to the water and he raised his wet paw. “Here?

\- Yeah. They were saying shit like becoming mediators to help the war or something…”

The red cat suddenly noticed a large cat on the other side of the bank. He was way more massive than her - well, _anybody_ was, scrawny as she had been getting - and he was staring at them with round, green eyes. She bristled.

“Hey! Piss off!”

The cat’s fur stood on end as her aggressive tone startled him.

“Oh, I...I’m sorry! I just wanted a drink and uh...I heard you talking about the princess and mediators and-

\- Cool,” she cut him off. “Go away.

\- O-of course, but would you mind telling me where they were?

\- Somewhere over there,” she waved her tail at the general direction where she had come from, then immediately jumped on her paws and her claws slid out. “Now _get out of here_ before I pluck your eyes out!

\- Okay, okay, I’m leaving!”

 _Gee, who spat in your food?_ The cat thought as he turned around and headed back into Sunkang.

 

Night fell quite quickly on the Kingdom of Sokhdom. A cool breeze blew by, taking the steady ring of the crickets with it. The Chay river flowed by, a little calmer than earlier but still rather intimidating, as it was now as black as the starless sky. Anyone who fell in there might as well be swallowed by nothingness. Everything was asleep in this fresh middle of the night.

Or was it?

The battle-scarred rebel still stood on the bank, staring straight at where the siamese cat had disappeared earlier. There was an unwavering frown on her face, and one might have wondered if it was from the fury of letting the princess go or if it was simply her resting face.

“Chandra.”

A stern voice rang from across the forest. Chandra turned her head around, to the side opposite of the Khuam bank. On the Sogan side stood a tall and thin cat: her fur was mostly white, except for her pale brown face, limbs and ears. Her features were youthful yet firm. The most noticeable thing about this cat was the left side of her face, where a _massive_ scar had effectively closed and most likely blinded her eye. Another one was scored across her chest. Anyone would’ve screamed and run for their lives at the sight of such a cat, but the rebel simply rolled her eyes.

“What is it.

\- Time to go home,” the other cat tapped the ground with her brown tail. “Come here.

\- No.

\- Home.

\- I said no.

\- Khang’s orders.

\- Don’t care.

\- My orders,” she sighed loudly. “I cannot sleep.”

The scarred rebel went quiet. She stared at the other cat for a moment, then sighed and jumped over the water. She landed in Sogan land with a dull noise and both cats started walking, side by side.

“So, no success for today?”

Chandra shook her head. “Brat escaped to Khuam with the same kids from yesterday.

\- Huh,” she frowned. “That is a problem. If they are in Khuam we-

\- Can’t touch them, I know, Thao. We have a deal with them and whatnot.

\- Yes, we leave them alone and they do not give away our exact position to the military,” Thao’s left, shredded ear flicked. “We will have to deal with that tomorrow. But first,” she let out a massive yawn. “Sleep. What time is it, two in the morning? I am exhausted.

\- Hey, sleep in Khang’s den,” she huffed. “He’s just as fluffy as me.”

The shadow of a smile appeared on the tall, stern cat’s face, then they both vanished in the undergrowth.

 

“Hanhvy? Why are you still up at this hour?”

The princess jerked her head up. She had been lying down in front of her window, her chin resting on her paws, sleepily watching out for someone. She hadn’t expected her father to still be awake.

“I’m...worried about Vanna. She still hasn’t come back.”

Quan-Van gave his daughter a comforting smile and entered her room. He laid his thick tail on her back reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t the first time she spends a night out. She’ll be back by tomorrow.

\- I hope so…” she muttered.

The king’s gaze softened. He, too, was slightly worried, but he knew his second daughter was brave and smart. It wouldn’t take too long for her to come back.

“Hey, don’t look so down. Let’s all go to sleep: that way, tomorrow will come faster and so will Vanna!”

The purple cat gave a mighty roll of her eyes but she couldn’t hide the smile on her face.

‘Alright, Dad, got the message. Goodnight!

\- Goodnight, Hanhvy.”

Her father gave her a last, playful flick of his tail, then left the room. The princess stood up and stretched herself, giving the window a last glance before heading to her bed, where she curled up and fell asleep within minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the plot thickens.......  
> and i think this chapter's a little shorter and im sorry about that!!! but in a few chapters the Action should pick up heheh


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeet!! new cats and a bit of explaining how shit works

The sun rose the next day as if nothing had happened. Its gentle beams dappled the forest floor with its light, stirring the little animals that, one by one, left the safety of their burrows in the undergrowth. One lone pheasant was pecking at the ground, its feathers basking in a stray pool of sunlight. It suddenly jerked its head up, and took off with a flurry of feathers a moment before a cat leapt and crashed to the ground on the exact spot where the bird had been.

“See how I did that Vanna?” Hau said as another cat sped by, “don’t do that.”

The golden cat came out of the bushes chuckling.

“Wow, you’re really bad at hunting Hau!”

The siamese let out an awkward laugh. Yep, he wasn’t the most agile cat there was, but at least he was trying...right?

He was almost startled by the return of the pheasant, that was now running off in the opposite direction. My-Khanh’s voice echoed from behind it.

“Hau! Get it, quick!”

The cat sprang on his feet and ran after the bird. Thankfully, it looked like his sister had injured it, as its wing was missing a few feathers and blood trickled from it. He caught up to it easily, and with one last effort, jumped, landed on its back and swiftly bit down on its neck. The prey struggled, but quickly went limp.

“I got it!” Hau yelled, his ears pricking happily.

An indignant hiss came from a bush, out of which came a small, thin cat. Her blue eyes sparkled with fury.

“Hey, that was  _ my food _ ! Give it back!

\- What?” The stranger took a step towards the dead pheasant, but Hau placed himself in front of it to block the way. “No!  _ I _ caught it!

\- Yeah well I was stalking it before you even  _ smelled  _ it! You stole my food!

\- What’s going on here?”

My-Khanh’s thin face emerged from the undergrowth, a puzzled look painted on her face. 

_ Who is that? _ she thought. The newcomer had red and cream fur and had yelled at Hau, and that’s all she knew. She jerked her head towards the taller cat and lashed her tail.

“Oh, it’s  _ you _ .”

_ Do we know each other? _ Her mind began racing.  _ Have I ever met a cat like that before? Where was it? Were we friends? Were we enemies? Why is my mind going so blank all of a sudden? _

“Mediate.

\- Wh-what?”

She was so caught up in trying to recognize that cat that I hadn’t seen her walk up to her and sit right in front of her, tail lashing and a massive frown on her face.  _ She’s pretty short huh. _

“I heard you talking about mediating and shit yesterday. So go ahead, do it.” She looked at Hau, her tail lashing again. “That cat stole my food.

\- I did  _ not _ !” he replied, offended. “I caught it!

\- Okay okay,”  _ You got this My-Khanh. You can do this! _ “First of all, calm down. Second of all, uh...why would you want to take my brother’s catch? He caught it before you did, so…”

The cat let out a hiss and the fur on her back started pricking. Vanna let out a squeak of surprise from behind My-Khanh.

“I already said that I saw it  _ first _ ! So it’s mine!”

_ Oh shi- shoot, is she shaking? _

“But of course you wouldn’t understand, you fuckfaces don’t give a shit about people other than yourselves!” Her limbs were trembling so much, My-Khanh wondered how she could still stand. “My friend  _ starved to death _ yesterday and I haven’t eaten in days, is that enough of a reason for you?”

The stranger’s outburst surprised the tall cat. She narrowed her eyes, trying - failing - to guess how old she was. She didn’t look much taller than Vanna, so she was probably a teenager. She shivered as she pictured Hau being in her paws at the moment they had run away from home.

“I see. Then Hau, let her have the pheasant.

\- What?”

With a final tail lash, the cat snatched the bird from Hau’s grip, leaving him dumbfounded. She paused to glare at the young cat, then turned around.

“Thanks. I’ll be going now.”

She was preparing herself to leap on the nearest root when My-Khanh yelled:

“Wait!” 

The red cat whipped around, shooting her an annoyed glare. She grunted and dropped the pheasant - making sure to place one firm paw over it. Hau rolled his eyes at this.

“You said your friend starved to death yesterday. Does that mean you’re on your own?

\- Why would you care?”

The siamese she-cat winced at her harsh tone.

“Well, I...we know what that feels like, being alone.” Hau lowered his ears and looked away as his sister said that. “So...you said you heard us talking yesterday. Would you like to, maybe, join us?

\- No.

\- What? Why not?

\- Because you’re all too naive. Do you really think that  _ talking _ to those cats who are literally  _ killing other cats _ will do anything?

\- Well,” Vanna piped up. “Talking  _ did _ just solve this prey stuff right now, so why not try it?”

The cat grunted, gave them one last glare and disappeared into the undergrowth. 

Defeat dropped like a stone in My-Khanh’s stomach. That was the first cat that she had tried to recruit, not counting Vanna, and she had failed miserably. She lowered her gaze, not daring to look at her brother and friend. They were probably disappointed in her. 

“So, uh…” Hau meowed, his paws kneading the ground nervously. “I guess we should keep hunting?”

Vanna’s stomach immediately grumbled loudly at those words, which made her squeal in surprise. My-Khanh let out a little laugh. 

“Okay, but I want to continue teaching Vanna how to hunt, can you manage on your own?

\- Sure. I promise I’ll try my best.

\- Don’t hunt a leaf this time!

\- That was  _ one time! _ ”

Hau’s sister stuck her tongue out at him teasingly. He let out a fake offended scoff and with an overdramatic whip of his tail, headed in the opposite direction the stranger had taken.

The siamese cat stood up and shook herself.  _ Okay. No use moping over that, I guess. _ She turned to face Vanna, who was sitting and looking up at her with wide, expecting eyes. 

“Okay, Vanna, let’s go somewhere else. With all that noise we made, there’s probably no more prey around.

\- Alright!”

Both cats went back to the place where they had originally spotted the pheasant. It was fairly close to their clearing, so they walked for a little longer before stopping. My-Khanh’s ears pricked, looking for the soft sound of little paws scuttling on the forest floor or the flapping of feathers and snapping twigs. Fortunately, she could hear one noise that was particularly loud: she couldn’t quite place what it was, but it was one  _ big _ piece of prey, and it was close. She turned to the little golden cat.

“Okay. So first things first, in order to hunt you have to know how to do the hunter’s crouch.” She dropped into position, crouching low, her belly almost touching the ground. “Like this.”

Vanna replicated the pose immediately, blinking expectantly at her teacher. The latter smiled.

“Very good! Just...careful with your tail. Lower it a little or else the prey will see you coming from miles away.” She sat up, her eyes shining with approval. “I’m impressed! Did you already know that pose?

\- Well,” she meowed, “my sister’s taught me a few things, including this!”

The siamese didn’t reply. She simply hummed, blinked and looked away, a pensive look in her green gaze.

“See if you can find something. I’ll be right behind you.”

Vanna’s ears twitched in excitement, and she narrowed her eyes, looking around to find her future first catch. Her eyes widened and she spun around, seemingly having heard something. She walked towards it slowly, while My-Khanh stared.

_ I wonder how she’s doing... _

There was a huge black and yellow thing sticking out of a bush. It shivered from time to time, indicating that it was a living being. The princess’ eyes sparkled and she stopped moving. She stared at it for a moment, then sprang on it, claws outstretched, letting out an excited yowl. She landed on the thing and her paws sank in its thick fur, which caused another screech to erupt.

“Hey! That’s my tail!”

The golden cat’s fur pricked in surprise. She looked at the bush, then back at the tail with the most puzzled look on her face.

“What?

\- My head’s over here!” The voice rose again. “I’m stuck!

\- Oh! Uh...My-Khanh?”

The tall cat snapped out of her thoughts and jerked her head up at the call. Vanna’s ears angled towards the bush.

“Someone’s stuck there.

\- Oh!”

She walked around the obstacle and found the rest of the cat’s body: his large, round face was lying on the ground and his green eyes were filled with defeat. They lit up, however, when he saw My-Khanh. She blinked at him, trying to make out where his yellow, black and white fur ended and where the leaves began. She pawed at the branches, trying to feel the limit.

“Wow,” she said as she felt the two different matters in a tight knot. “You really are stuck.

\- My fur is...uh...a little long, to say the least. Could you help me out?”

She nodded, and with one swift move she tore a few branches away, snatching a strip of fur and a yelp from the cat in the process. 

“Sorry,” the siamese apologised. “It’s either that or staying stuck there forever.

\- S’okay,” he replied, biting his lip to try and withstand the pain.

And a few clumps of fur later, he was freed. He quickly stepped away from the bush and shook his thick pelt to get rid of the last few leaves. He was a bit shorter than My-Khanh, but was still massive, especially due to his large frame. He then looked at his saviour with a smile, only to cock his head to the side with a puzzled look.

“Do I know you?”

The she-cat blinked, ears pricking, an equally puzzled expression forming on her face.

“Um...no? I don’t think so,” she said. Then, shaking her head, she continued: “But, may I ask why you’re here?

\- Oh! Right, sorry, I shouldn’t come barging into your home like that,” he scratched the floor with a paw out of embarrassment. “My name is Quanq-Thieu. I came here because I heard some cats were willing to be...mediators. In the war, I mean. With the rebels and stuff. Do you...do you know where I can find them?”

My-Khanh’s expression changed to a big, bright smile.

“Well, you’ve found them! These cats are me, Vanna over here,” she gestured to the princess, who waved her paw with a friendly smile. “And my brother Hau.”

Quanq-Thieu visibly deflated with relief and sighed.

“Oh great! I thought I’d die and get lost before I found you.”  _ In that order?  _ My-Khanh thought. “So um...can I join you?”

Vanna squealed in joy, while her friend’s face lit up. 

“Of course! Anyone is welcome to join us. Follow me.”

She turned around and gestured to the two other cats, who quickly stepped beside her. The earlier disappointment had vanished and had been replaced by relief and pride.  _ Our first recruit! And it has only been a few days, and word is already spreading! _ The siamese cat felt like she could start bouncing about all the way back home. But she controlled herself: she was a leader now.  _ Wow _ , she thought.  _ Leader. That sounds way too...cool for me. But I mean...I guess that’s whay I am! _

“So, Quanq-Thieu,” she snapped out of her thoughts. “Tell me a bit more about yourself. Like, why did you choose to join us?

\- Well, um…”

He looked down, his ears drooping a little.

“Oh,” My-Khanh corrected quickly. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it

\- No no, it’s fine, don’t worry,” he replied. “Um...My family is a pretty high-ranked kshatriya one. And uh...among other things, the pressure was unbearable.

\- I see. Is that because you are your family’s firstborn?”

The massive cat went silent. Vanna looked at him with wide, questioning eyes, and piped up:

“Quanq-Thieu?

\- ...yeah, it is.

\- Then why is it you’re not wearing your collar?”

His head jerked up, surprise showing in his eyes.

“How did you know? I mean, uh...you’re…

\- I am not completely blind,” she said. “My vision is beyond repair, although I can still see extremely blurry shapes and colours. So, I can see that you’re not wearing a collar.

\- I just…” he turned his head away. “I don’t like wearing it.

\- It’s okay,” Vanna meowed, “We won’t judge you for that!

\- Oh, I’m sorry if I came across as judgemental,” My-Khanh apologised. “I was simply worried that you might have lost it, or...that something else had happened.

\- What do you mean, something else?”

The siamese cat jumped over a particularly huge branch and waited for the two others to join her on the other side to reply.

“These necklaces are the most sacred symbol of a few kshatriya families, because they’re supposed to represent our founders and their descendants. They’re passed down from first child to first child.” She reached for her own blue collar. “I got mine from my father. But there are instances where a cat can lose their own, for reasons like high treason or-

\- Can we talk about something else,  _ please _ ?”

Quanq-Thieu’s sudden interruption startled My-Khanh. She murmured an apology, to which the other cat answered with a shake of his head, as if to say  _ Don’t worry about it _ . Suddenly, Vanna shrieked in delight.

“We’re home!” She stopped in front of a bush over which branches intertwined neatly. “Hau! Are you there?

\- Yep!” The cat’s voice echoed from the other side. “And I caught a few mice! Won’t replace the pheasant, but at least we-”

His head emerged from the leaves, and he froze at the sight of the new cat. He blinked.

“Oh...hello there.”

Quanq-Thieu didn’t reply, he simply stared back, his fur fluffing up ever so slightly. He looked...almost dazed at the sight of My-Khanh’s brother. Vanna bounced to her friend’s side.

“Quanq-Thieu, this is Hau! Hau, this is Quanq-Thieu, and he’s joining us! Isn’t that cool?

\- Oh- oh yeah, it is! Welcome to our humble home, Quanq-Thieu!

\- Thank you!”

The black and yellow cat smiled quite awkwardly, matching Hau’s face. The princess, however, quickly broke it up and pushed her new friend in the bush, excitedly saying she’d show him where he could sleep, where he could sunbathe, where he could watch  _ that one leaf _ falling off the trees...My-Khanh chuckled at the little cat’s enthusiasm. Then her gaze slid to her brother, who stared after the two cats. She gave him a long, pensive look, then a little smirk appeared on her face. She gave his cheek a flick of her tail.   


“So...your type huh?

\- Hey!”

She laughed at her brother’s offended look, his flustered and slightly blushing face obvious to her.  _ Of course he’s his type. _ And after nudging her brother, she entered her home sweet home.

 

“You’re late,  _ princess. _ ”

Hanhvy held back her  _ massive _ sigh. Of course Marshall Tam had to  _ always _ remind her that just because she was the princess, she wouldn’t have any special treatment, even when she was the first to arrive.  _ I even arrived before one of the teachers for fuck’s sake!  _ She wondered if she could protest, but Tam’s harsh gaze dissuaded her. So she simply flicked her tail with annoyance and placed herself on her usual side of the room, near the window.

Looking around and ignoring the brown cat’s glare, she saw two other cats. The military had four branches, therefore four heads and four teachers. Of course, there were other cats who could fill that role in case one of them was unavailable, but nothing short of the best teaching was required for all cats who were learning how to fight. Technically, there was no hierarchy to who was the head of the military, however everyone knew it was a tie between the marshall and General An-Toan. But while Tam was the head of the combat branch, An-Toan was head of the Royal Guard. The tall, thin yet muscular cat always flanked the monarchs whenever there was a huge event to celebrate. Supposedly, his calm and collected nature was comforting, and Hanhvy had even heard someone say that his  _ brown and cream fur _ were soothing to look at? Never before had she given someone such a puzzled look. But there was something about the general that unsettled the princess. Right now, he was grooming his short fur on the opposite side of the room. His dark blue eyes met hers, and he nodded as greetings. She nodded back.  _ I don’t like you. _

Next was General Mliss. She was a fierce cat, she wasn’t much older than Hanhvy and probably one of the only ones who had the guts to argue with the marshall. Her dark brown tabby fur and white paws were clean of any scars, except for one that barred her nose. She led the Priestesses’ Guard: since the cats were the only link between the dead and the living, they were highly respected and cherished by many, therefore they needed their own guard to protect them against any ill-meaning individuals. It just so happened that Mliss’ sister, Sopheary, was head priestess, so she was  _ her _ guard exclusively. Which made them a really good pair. She was currently sitting quite a distance away from the two other cats, and simply looking at the entrance, waiting for their students. Hanhvy had always thought she was pretty cool, but she never dared to walk up to her and start a conversation. She probably didn’t even like her anyway, like most cats around here.

And last was the only one who wasn’t here yet: General Luong. Hanhvy could not  _ stand _ his stupid ass, and sometimes she wondered how he had even gotten into the army, and with a position as high as head of the City Guard. He led the cats who guarded the city’s entrance, made sure the streets were safe, and they often fought alongside the regular soldiers and worked with the Royal and Priestess Guards. In other words, the police or, in Hanhvy’s words, “the ones you don’t really care about because they’re kinda useless”. Besides, Luong had a reputation of making a lot of inappropriate comments to the female soldiers. Apparently, he once had the  _ brilliant _ idea to try hitting on Mliss, which she had not taken well. He still had a massive notch in his ear because of that.

Speak of the devil, the grey cat marched in, tail waving, followed by a stream of young cats.  _ Fucking finally, _ Hanhvy muttered inwardly.

The arriving cats started gathering around their assigned teacher, as usual, and a light chatter rose. An-Toan nodded at some of his students in greetings, Mliss talked with some of hers and Luong had started boasting about his latest achievement to his ring of admirers. In other words, their daily training was about to start. However, Tam slammed her massive tail on the ground as a way to catch their attention. Which sure worked, since almost every present cat had turned towards the marshall with a fearful look in their eyes.

“We are starting with a joint exercise. Pair up with someone who isn’t in your branch and fight.”

These instructions were pretty vague, but no one dared raise their voice and ask further questions. The students simply moved along and looked for someone to team up with. And over on the other side of the room, Mliss was staring at Tam through narrowed eyes. The tip of her tail twitched, maybe in annoyance, maybe in something else. The massive brown cat returned her glare, holding her head high. The others tried not to walk in the middle of that staredown contest, maybe in fear of being burnt by the intensity of it. However, An-Toan did, and did not magically start burning. He gave a long, meaningful look to both the cats and they turned away. 

“Hey, uh...wanna fight?”

Hanhvy was almost startled at the sudden arrival of another cat. He looked rather small and scrawny, and there was a look of fear in his eyes. The purple cat looked around, but apparently no one else was free to team up with either of them.  _ Guess that’s why he looks so scared, _ she thought. 

“Okay.”

She couldn’t tell from which branch he was from, but as they settled into position, she saw white paws correcting the cat’s crouch.  _ Okay, so he’s training to be a priestess guard. Cool. _ Maybe she’d see him on the battlefield alongside her someday, when the priestesses weren’t busy. In these war times, every cat who could fight was called to the battlefield. She had seen Mliss fight a rebel once, and she had sent him running back to their filthy jungle.

The head of the Priestesses’ Guard sat next to them and signalled them to start. Hanhvy instantly propelled herself forward and slammed her head into the other cat’s chin. He staggered backwards, surprised by the attack, and she used that moment of confusion to duck underneath him and flip him over with a strong heave of her paws. She pinned him to the ground before he could realize it.

Mliss laughed.

“Hey, princess, take it easy. This is his first day. Don’t traumatize him so soon.”

_ Oh. Well he has shitty luck to be paired with me. _

She was about to reply when a commotion rose from the other side of the room. The brown and white cat’s ears pricked, and her gaze sharpened. Hanhvy craned her neck to try and get a glimpse of what was happening, but a crowd had already begun to form itself around the origin of the noise, and short as she was, the sight was easily hidden from her. Mliss let out a frustrated sigh and marched towards the crowd, the latter parting as she passed by. The purple cat followed her, leaving the other cat lying on the ground, and saw that Tam had intervened in the middle of a fight. She recognized one of the cats, who was training under the marshall with her, and she also recognized the other cat. She was small, with pale brown fur and white stripes, and right now she was being yelled at by Tam.

“...and now you tell me, Miu: how can you expect to protect your sister while being such a failure?”

_ Ouch, _ Hanhvy cringed inwardly.

Miu was Tam’s relative and she had had the misfortune of being taken in and raised by the massive cat along with her siblings. She did not know much about them, but she knew that Tam made their life especially hard. Apparently, the other day, her siblings Thuy and Kunthea had been talking to Vanna and the marshall had immediately insulted them and told them to stop bothering her. And she had said that in an especially loud voice, in the middle of a crowd. What a nice relative. It didn’t help that all three of them were vaishyas, therefore a caste under Tam and a lot of cats around here. Hanhvy knew there was a huge portion of her fellow students who belonged to that caste as well, but none of them had to go through Tam’s constant berating.

Kunthea was also part of the Priestesses’ Order, and she was training directly under the Head Priestess. Therefore, her sister was training to become her guard, under Mliss’ teaching. But of course, that didn’t stop the marshall from intruding and yelling at her in public, oh no.

Miu lashed her tail furiously, and she hissed at Tam in response to her taunt. And to that, the other cat slammed her small body to the ground with one massive paw.

“ _ What _ was that?

\- Tam, cut it out.”

A few gasps rose from the gathered cats. Not many cats dared calling the marshall by her name. She was almost always called by her title.

She turned her head to glare at Mliss, who was holding her head high and had adopted a confident posture. Again, the tension rose quickly in the middle of their glares.

“She might be your student, but this is a joint exercise,” she snarled. “I have  _ every right  _ to correct her on her never-ending mistakes.

\- Sure,” the other cat replied with a calm but strong voice. “But that doesn’t mean you can such a dick about it.”

Further, louder gasps rose again. The marshall immediately abandoned Miu to stick her face inches away from Mliss’.

“ _ What did you call me? _ ” she growled. 

Mliss didn’t waver. She just glared into Tam’s furious green eyes without moving, the fur on her back rising. 

“Whoa, ladies!” Hanhvy almost let out the most massive sigh in the world. “Let’s just go back to what we were doing, okay?” Luong trotted up to the two bristling she-cats. He slid closer to the head of the Priestess Guard and a smirk appeared on his face. “And maybe  _ you _ could…”

The brown and white cat let out a low, warning growl that clearly meant “get the fuck away from me or I’ll come for your  _ other _ ear”. The general seemed to understand that and quickly backed away. Instead, An-Toan walked up to them.

“Stop it, both of you. Settle your little grudges elsewhere,” the siamese’s voice was laced with its usual calmness, but still firm. “We have other, more useful things to do as of right now.”

His deep blue eyes stared at the two she-cats, who slowly backed away from each other. They stared at each other for a moment more, then Tam hissed at Mliss one more time and walked away. An-Toan nodded, satisfied, and returned to the pair he had been watching, signalling to the others to go back to what they were doing. Mliss sighed, then walked up to Miu, who was getting back up with gritted teeth. There was a little blood trickling from her shoulder. Hanhvy could barely hear them talk over the others’ fighting, but she caught Mliss asking her student if she was alright. To which she replied with a hiss and a “Leave me alone”.

_ Wow, _ the purple cat thought.  _ Uh. Okay, I guess. _

She turned away and went back to her partner.

 

Hanhvy collapsed on her bed that evening. She stretched her paws as much as she could, each one of her muscles aching. After the joint exercise, they had trained with their own  branches for a while, then Tam had paired her students with An-Toan’s for a simulated rebel attack. That had made Hanhvy extremely uneasy, but she had obeyed anyway. She had even managed to battle against the head of the Royal Guard, but of course she had been no match for the seasoned fighter. She  _ had _ managed to pin him to the ground at one point, but he had quickly swept her off her paws. As a result of that, her body was aching more than usual. Tam had still praised her though, and the purple cat’s chest had swelled with pride. Compliments from the marshall were the hardest thing to get in the military, and were only for the best of the best. She had received admirative glances as well as envious ones from other students due to that.

She let herself relax, feeling like she was about to melt and fuse with her bed. However, she felt like something was off. She opened her eyes and looked around her room. Her ears drooped as she realized what was wrong.

 

Vanna still hadn’t come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh btw yall.....look forward to something nice sometime during july :eyes:


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kilbisam bomb has officially STARTED!! which means 1 chapter a day for a whole week!! lets get this show on the road shall we :3c

Days passed. Long, long days. Life went on, as it always did, but there was one major fact that made it feel very, very off: Vanna was still not back at the palace. Not having this little ray of sunshine running in the hallways and flanking either her mother or her sister felt extremely strange to everyone, but especially the monarchs.

“I am sorry your Majesty but we could not find the Princess.”

Tuyet’s hopeful face vanished, ears drooping in disappointment as the guard delivered the news.

“General An-Toan is still investigating with a few of his cats, but all we could find was an old scent trail.

\- All we could tell from it was that it was headed for the jungle. We don’t know which province.” The other guard lowered his head. “We’re sorry, your Majesty.

\- It’s alright,” the queen’s voice tried to sound normal, but it was unusually low and sad. “You may go.”

The guards left with their tails trailing to the ground. It was really easy to get attached to both the queen and her daughter, and seeing one of them being sad at the other’s disappearance made them feel awful. The king entered the room as they were leaving it, effectively startling both of them. He raised his ears and his orange eyes lit up in hope, but both guards shook their heads sadly. Quan-Van had the same reaction as his wife, and dismissed them. He walked up to Tuyet and wrapped his tail around her comfortingly. She laid her head on his soft chest and sighed.

“So...no news?

\- No,” she meowed. “They only found an old scent trail heading into the jungle. They don’t know which province, though.”

The king’s eyes lit up in alarm. So their daughter could be either in neutral territory, or…

A loud “ _ What? _ ” echoed in the hallway. A moment later, a purple hurricane stormed in, her whole body bristling.

“The rebels took Vanna,” Hanhvy hissed. “I’m sure of it. These cowards would do  _ anything _ to harm us, even if it means kidnapping an innocent child!

\- Hanhvy,” Quan-Van put in tentatively, “Calm down-

\- I’m going to rip their pelts off if that’s the last thing I do.

\- No!”

The princess had turned away and was heading for the exit, but Tuyet ran from her husband’s side and put herself between Hanhvy and the door. She looked at her in the eyes, and saw her blue eyes alight with anger.

“It’s too dangerous for you to go alone!”

Hanhvy’s tail lashed furiously.

“I’m  _ trained _ . I’ve done this all my life. I could take them on with my eyes closed.” She scoffed at herself inwardly: she was exaggerating  _ just a little _ but she was in no mood to be measured. “Don’t tell me what to do just because  _ you _ don’t have the guts to go.” She unsheathed her claws and the fur along her spine pricked. “Now  _ get out of my way. _

\- Hanhvy!”

Quan-Van marched his way between the two cats. He shielded his wife with his thick tail and looked at his daughter with wide eyes.

“Don’t be so rude, Tuyet is merely concerned about your safety.”

The purple cat hissed and stared straight into her father’s eyes.

“Well, she shouldn’t be. She should be more worried about her  _ own daughter’s _ safety, not mine.”

A heavy and uncomfortable silence settled between the three cats. Tuyet looked down at her paws, guilt lacing her turquoise gaze. The sound of pawsteps outside the room made the king’s ears flick. He glanced behind him quickly, then cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Anyway...You’re not going out there.” He blinked, then looked at the princess with a firm look. “And you’re not escaping on your own either. Come in.”

To Hanhvy’s surprise, a familiar brown and white shape stepped in. She walked towards the three monarchs and sat down, her face calm and collected. She looked at the purple cat through narrowed blue eyes.

“General Mliss will be watching you and making sure you don’t go off on a hero trip.

\- Great,” the furious she-cat replied sarcastically. “She’s  _ literally _ babysitting me.

\- Note that I can and I  _ will _ sit on you if you try to leave,” Mliss’ voice rose, betraying nothing but seriousness. “And you know that.

\- May I come in, your Majesties?

\- Chancellor! Please do.”

Hanhvy had to physically stop herself from letting out the loudest groan of annoyance.  _ Dammit, not him again. _ She hated the Chancellor with every inch of her being, and she had no idea why her father trusted him so much. Apparently, him being a privileged brat who constantly favoured the kshatriyas and left the lower castes to suffer and die alone weren’t good enough reasons for the king to not trust him. She also knew that her mother had other reasons for disliking him, but she had never shared those with her daughter.

“Aaaaand that’s our cue to leave. Bye dad.”

The purple cat stepped out of Quan-Van and Tuyet’s way and walked towards the door. She nodded at Mliss, who nodded back and followed her. The chancellor’s brown fur flashed in the corner of her vision, but she barely acknowledged him and left promptly.

Sahn stared after the two leaving cats through narrowed eyes. He blinked, then turned to the king and queen, who had sat back down. They looked at each other with sorrowful gazes as the tall cat sat down in front of them, tucking his tail around his paws neatly. 

“From the look on your faces,” he spoke up, “I’m guessing there are no news from the princess.

\- Unfortunately, no,” Quan-Van sighed.

Tuyet closed her eyes and buried her nose in her husband’s fur. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as if trying to let out her worries as well as the oxygen in her lungs. The king gave her a few reassuring licks on the top of her head, to which she only reacted by pushing her face deeper in his pale red fur. Sahn simply stared at them.

“Your Majesties,” he spoke again. “I have been thinking. And I believe I might know why the princess left.”

Quan-Van’s face immediately lit up with hope and his ears shot upwards. His wife suddenly turned her head to look at the chancellor with wide, surprised eyes.

“You do?!

\- Consider this,” he raised his paw. “Little Vanna adores her sister more than anything. She would follow her everywhere she went, and she would do quite anything for her. And we all know how Hanhvy’s view have been…” he waved his paw elusively. “...quite the controversy. Tiptoeing on  _ rebel  _ views, really.”

The king listened to the cat’s words intently and his eyes widened.

“Are you suggesting…

\- Princess Vanna might have left to join said rebels, yes,” Sahn nodded.

The dark pink cat’s eyes narrowed and darkened with thought. Tuyet, however, frowned.

“That...doesn’t make sense. Hanhvy hates the rebels more than anything!”

The tall cat blinked several times.  _ Uh. Um. _ He had forgotten that tiny, really infinitesimal detail. It wasn’t like Hanhvy was  _ constantly _ hissing about hating rebels. Absolutely not.

“But she could have gone to them to spy,” the king murmured.

The chancellor almost felt a wild ripple of relief coursing through his body.

“You took the words right out of my mouth, your Majesty.” The queen opened her mouth to try and argue, but her face only showed uncertainty. Sahn angled his ears and his face towards the exit, where the violet princess had been standing just a few moments ago. “I hate to say this, but...we might now know who is to blame for Princess Vanna’s disappearance.

\- This is ridiculous!” Tuyet burst out, a look of shock and sadness painted on her gentle features. “Hanhvy would never-

\- Consider that she could have done that to hurt  _ you _ as well, your Majesty,” Sahn put in with a saddened gaze.

The golden cat shook her head, gritting her teeth, as if she were trying to block out the chancellor’s words.

“No, Hanhvy hates me, but she loves Vanna  _ so much _ ! It’s as plain as day that Vanna’s love for her sister is  _ completely _ returned! She would never-

\- Tuyet, dear,” Quan-Van said with a firm yet soft voice, laying his thick tail on his wife’s flank. “We...we have to  _ at least _ consider the possibility. The Chancellor’s theory is...not entirely far-fetched.”

Tuyet planted her turquoise gaze into her husband’s orange one, then turned away and shut her eyes tightly before any stray tears could spill out. 

“Your Majesties, your Eminence, I hate to interrupt but I have news.”

The smooth voice echoed in the room, followed by strong pawsteps. Sahn turned around and his gaze met the Head of the Royal Guard’s dark blue one. An-Toan strode towards them, dipped his head to the three cats politely and sat down. Since this was a matter of royal disappearance, the Royal Guard  _ had to _ get involved to try and find the princess. Quan-Van’s eyes lit up hopefully.

“General! What sort of news?”

The siamese cat shook his head.

“Not good, I’m afraid,” he meowed. “We found the princess’s blood near the rebel border. However, there wasn’t much of it, so we can assume that she’s merely hurt and not dead.”

_ How very reassuring, _ Sahn thought sarcastically.

The hope in the king’s eyes vanished at the general’s news.

“Well...that’s a relief,” he murmured. “Thank you, both of you. We...will be leaving now.”

He brushed his tail on Tuyet’s back, who had once again lowered her head after having heard An-Toan’s words. She stood up and left the room beside her husband, the latter looking quite deep in thought. The chancellor and the royal guard stared after them without saying a word. And after a while, An-Toan turned his head to face the other cat.

“So. Did you share your little theory with them?”

Sahn let out a little laugh. He lifted his paw, gave it a lick and rubbed it against his face.

“I did,” he replied with a satisfied tone and a confident smirk. “And let me tell you, my friend: I believe this is going to be far easier than I thought.” 

 

Hanhvy flopped down on the floor. She had headed straight for her room, stomping in annoyance and worry and anger, and she had exhausted herself in the process. Having such a tornado of emotions in her chest sure was tiring. She stared ahead blankly as Mliss, who of course had followed her, entered the room and sat down a little distance away from the princess. The latter could feel the guard’s quizzical stare on her. A moment of silence elapsed before the brown and white cat asked:

“Isn’t this the moment where you’re supposed to yell at me and attack me and then leave the palace?”

Hanhvy sighed.

“Nope.

\- Huh.” Mliss paused. “And may I ask why?

\- I’m tired.” Which was true. But… “And I hate to admit it, but Tuyet’s right. I’d just get myself killed if I went alone. And…” Her gaze darkened with sadness and she curled herself up. “I...I don’t want Vanna to lose her family.

\- Oh, I see.”

Mliss was surprised. She had heard so many stories about the heir princess, about how she was brash and reckless, and how she didn’t care about anything. She glanced at the set of two scars on her left shoulder: she still remembered when she had gotten those. She had just been promoted to Head of the Priestesses’ Guard and Hanhvy had joined the military not so long ago. Tam had been teaching her students about rebels and how they attacked with sneaky and deceptive yet powerful tricks, and the purple cat had been especially passionate about learning those. The fight against her opponent had gotten far too intense, and she had ended up getting struck on the shoulder, leaving those scars behind. And she hadn’t seemed to mind. Even though the wound had been bleeding out, she had insisted on continuing to fight. So seeing her acting so caring was...weird. Maybe the stories were wrong.

But there was another thing that bothered the guard.

“May I ask you another question?

\- Ask ahead.

\- Why are you so...aggressive with the queen?” Hanhvy’s ears pricked. “She seems so sweet, and yet-

\- She acts too...motherly with me. I don’t like it.

\- Why?

\- You can lie down, you know,” the princess said, blinking at her. “Must be tiring to be sitting all the time.

\- Oh- Thank you, princess.”

Mliss took a few steps and lay down next to the purple cat, so that she could look at her in the eye more easily. She closed her eyes and stretched her paws, then stared at the other cat.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Hanhvy sighed. The guard gave her an amused look.  _ Nice try to avoid the subject. _

“I have one mother, and one mother only. And she is dead.”

She turned her blue gaze away, the tip of her tail twitching.

“The way Tuyet behaves makes me feel like she’s trying to replace her. And I don’t like that.” She stretched her paw to push a leaf that had fallen off the nearby trees away. Her features suddenly turned very sad. “I...I don’t want anyone to ever replace my mum.”

The brown and white cat almost regretted asking that question. She still remembered Queen Tevy and her reign alongside King Quan-Van. Her father had been the previous king, and honestly? She had been a breath of fresh air, as she had had military training before ascending to the throne and she understood many things that the rest of the governing powers did not. Mliss realized that, in many ways, mother and daughter were very much alike. And according to some cats, baby Hanhvy had always been glued to the former queen’s side.

The guard laid her chin on her forepaws.

“I...I see. I think I’d feel the same way if someone tried to replace my sister.

\- Oh,” the princess’ blue eyes flickered back to the other cat. “You have a sister?

\- Yes. She’s taken your place as Grand Priestess.

\- Oh! Does she like it?

\- She does,” Mliss smiled. “She’s always felt a strong connection to the spirit world and she was so happy when she talked to the spirits for the first time. And to be honest, I’m glad you didn’t follow tradition and refused the position.”

Hanhvy laughed.

“This is the first time anyone’s ever told me that. Everyone’s always on my back saying stuff like,” she grimaced and her voice got higher to mimick people’s behaviour. “‘The princess should be the Grand Priestess, not some stupid and violent soldier!’ Urgh.

\- Well, ignore them,” Mliss replied with a flick of her tail. “Being a soldier is  _ great. _ You get to fight and  _ do things _ instead of sitting on your ass all day. I mean,” she corrected. “Of course Sopheary works a lot, but apparently the princesses who are head priestess get some sort of special treatment and do almost nothing.

\- Yeah, I heard of that. That’s one of the many reasons why I didn’t want to be that. And now I get my ass kicked a bunch but at least I’m doing something I like!”

Mliss laughed and nodded in agreement. A short silence settled, then Hanhvy let out a huge yawn.

“I...I think I’m going to take a nap.”

The guard dipped her head.

“Of course. Sleep tight, princess.

\- Oh no, just Hanhvy is fine.

\- Alright,” she smirked, “Just Hanhvy.”

The purple cat rolled her eyes with a little smile, then settled back into a comfortable sleeping position.


	6. Chapter 6

My-Khanh took a deep, deep breath. She looked around the clearing from the root where she was sitting, her gaze flickering from one cat to another.

Word of their project must’ve gotten around since Quanq-Thieu had joined. A lot of cats had approached them and asked to join as well. Most of them had been living peacefully in Khuam, mostly because they wanted to avoid all the violence. But a pacifist option had appealed to them, so they had come. Some of the newcomers also came from Sunkang, but their reasons were the same as the Khuamese cats. Their hollow had gotten a little crowded as a consequence, but thankfully a lot of cats were comfortable with sleeping in the nearby trees right outside. The siamese was happy and proud that so many cats had been joining: truly, she hadn’t expected them to grow so quickly. Even the starving cat from the other day had ended up joining. Her name was Lang.

_Or their?_

They had told them that they were nonbinary, and either pronouns were fine. Hau’s ears had pricked happily, but Lang had ignored him. There was a little work to do on their social skills: it wasn’t uncommon to see the red cat eating alone and looking at the other cats from a distance. And when she talked to anyone, half the time it was to snap at them. But at least she was there, so that was a start.

“My-Khanh!”

The tall cat snapped out of her thoughts as she heard her brother’s voice. He hopped beside her, his eyes blinking expectantly.

“So we’re doing this today, right?

\- Right,” she smiled awkwardly. “I’m...kind of nervous, though.

\- Pshh, don’t worry, you’re going to do great, I know it!” he nudged her towards the nearby, bigger root. “Go on, tell them!

\- Okay, okay!”

She swiped at him, and he dodged her paw just in time. She stood up, shook herself to try and get rid of the nervousness growing in her stomach and gave her brother another look. He nodded at her with a confident smile and angled his ears towards the other root. She took one big breath and exhaled quickly, then leapt on the root. Since it was quite big and a high point in the clearing, she could address all the cats quite easily. Besides, it arched over her and Hau’s den (and Vanna’s), so it was really practical. She looked down. Since it was the end of the morning, a lot of cats were gathered below, either chatting among themselves or sunning themselves. _This is nice,_ she thought.

“Everyone!” she declared with a loud voice that she hoped sounded confident. “I have something to say!”

The announcement had managed to rid her stomach of a big part of her stress, thankfully. The cats looked up from their spots, and they all gathered beneath the root. The few remaining cats who resided outside the hollow came in and placed themselves next to the others. 

_Oh, that’s a lot of cats._

She caught sight of Hau in the crowd, who pricked his ears in support.

“So...I believe it is time for us to go on our first mission. Today, some of us will go to Sogan and try and talk to the rebels. Who wants to come?”

The gathered cats cheered and a lot of their voices rose to volunteer, which surprised My-Khanh.

_Wow. So many of them want to come._ She smiled. _That’s great. I found a lot of good cats._

“Okay, so…” she squinted to try and make out the shapes of the volunteering cats. She pointed at two cats whose names she had forgotten (she’d just go with “you” for the time being), then at Lang, then at Hau. “You’re all coming with me.” A lot of cats groaned in disappointment. “Let’s just stick with little groups at first. If we’re too big of a group, they’ll take it as an aggression. Okay?”

A murmur rose, and she heard some “seems fair” and “that actually makes sense” coming from the crowd. A warm wave of relief swept over her.

“Great! Then we’ll be leaving at noon.”

Excited chatter rose as she jumped back to the smaller root and to the ground. She recognised her brother’s pawsteps as he walked up to her.

“See? You did great! I’m so proud of you!

\- Thank you!” My-Khanh beamed. “It’s kind of weird to have so many cats staring at your every move though. I don’t know how the king does it.

\- Yeah, me neither. But hey, if you need backup, just call me!”

A massive yellow and black shape made their way to them.

“Hey, My-Khanh, that was amazing!” Quanq-Thieu said with a smile that quickly turned into a pout. “Although I wish I was coming…”

The look he slid towards Hau made his sister smile. _Something tells me you’d be coming for something else and not only the talking._ Hau laughed.

“Somebody needs to stay with Vanna, and she trusts you already!

\- That’s...true.”

And almost as if to prove his point, a little golden shape came barreling through and hopped beside the long-furred cat. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement and the tip of her tail twitched left and right.

“You tell me everything when you get back, okay? I want to know all the details! And tell me what the rebels look like and everything! And if you see that scary lady who attacked me, well, uh…” she looked away for a moment, thinking. “Bite her for me!

\- I _would_ do that for you, Vanna,” My-Khanh laughed, “but we’re going to talk to them, not attack them.

\- Awww…” her ears drooped. “Then tell her she scared me!

\- Will do.”

She whipped around to face Quanq-Thieu, who had been very busy glancing at Hau while no one was looking.

“Quanq-Thieu! I want to hunt with you! I promise I’ve gotten better! I practiced hunting leaves!

\- Uh, sure! Why not!”

The golden cat yelped happily and bounced around her friend. The siamese siblings laughed at the little cat’s antics. It was nice to have her around.

 

My-Khanh led the way through the jungle. Hau was beside her, just in case there was an unusual rock in the way. Behind them the two other cats were chatting calmly, and Lang, as usual, was keeping a little distance and staring at them without saying a word. The leading siamese’s ears pricked as she picked up the sound of the rushing water.

_The Chay’s close._

Which meant they would be heading into Sogan soon. And then, there would be no going back. She took a deep breath to try and get rid of the nervousness in her chest. A few moments later, they found themselves on the banks of the river. She could hear the foaming water and feel it spraying her paws. 

_This is it! Let’s go!_

“Do you guys need help jumping over the river?”

They all replied that they didn’t, so she waved her tail to let them jump first. And after Lang had leapt over the churning waters, she joined them on the Soganese bank.

My-Khanh didn’t know if it was her mind making things up or if it was real, but as she landed on the province’s grounds, she felt like the birds had stopped singing. The ground felt a little rough under her paws. Only a light breeze stirred the vegetation around them. She felt a chill running down her spine. Here they were.

“Okay,” she whispered. “Be careful, everyone. We’ve entered Sogan. We can run into the rebels anytime now.”

They all nodded in understanding. She almost thought she saw Lang rolling her eyes, but she chose to ignore it and turned around. And with another deep breath, she headed into the undergrowth, her cats following her closely.

All of them walked in utmost silence through the rebel jungle. Sometimes a leaf crunched under their paws or a stray twig snapped, but it didn’t attract any unwanted attention. Thankfully. My-Khanh waved her tail again, this time to signal to the other cats to spread out and look for cats who might be nearby. Hau followed her, and the three other cats went on their own.

A moment later, Lang bounded back to the siblings. 

“My-Khanh,” she whispered. “They’re over there.”

She pointed to somewhere over the trees with her paw. The siamese cat sniffed the air and angled her ears in that direction and her heart skipped a beat as she picked up the sounds of a crowd of cats. Her whiskers twitched with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation. She told Lang to gather the other two and looked back at Hau, who was glancing at the glimpses of the rebels with wide eyes. He looked back at his sister, who nodded at him firmly- or at least she hoped it looked firm enough. Moments later, the three cats emerged from the bushes and My-Khanh stood up. She gave one lash of her tail, then whispered.

“Okay. This is it. Let’s go.”

Her voice trembled slightly, but no one commented on it.

She whipped around, her nose twitching to locate the rebels’ position, and as she found it, leapt out of the bushes. She landed in front of the leading rebel, who was startled by the sudden appearance and stumbed back. He bumped into the cats that followed him, causing several noises of annoyance to erupt.

“Stop!” My-Khanh shouted as she straightened up, planting her paws into the ground firmly. Hau and the others came out of the bushes as well and positioned themselves beside their leader. “Do you have a moment?”

A mighty hiss at the back of the crowd sent a shiver down the siamese’s spine. The crowd parted, and a massive, battle-scarred cat marched towards them.

_Oh._

The cat frowned and wrinkled her nose in annoyance, flicking her ear that wasn’t completely torn off.

“You’re the brats from Khuam. The ones with the princess.”

Yep. That was definitely the cat who had tried to take Vanna away. 

“Hello, my name is My-Khanh-

\- I don’t care. What makes you think you can be here?”

Her stomach lurched as the rebel cut her off. _Rude…_

“Where’s your leader?”

_Could have gone for a smarter question, but we’ll settle for that,_ she thought.

The cream-coloured cat huffed.

“How do you know you’re not looking at them?

\- You’re female, and your leader is male.”

Her brow arched. _Have I impressed her? Will she let me talk now?_

“What do you want?” she said curtly.

_Yes!_

“Well, um...we’d like to…”

_Oh no._ The siamese felt herself growing hot with shame as a wave of nervousness swept over her. This _definitely_ wasn’t the time to lose her words!

“How long are you going to waste our time?”

And the rebel, of course, was not helping at all.

“I-I’m sorry, but-

\- Spit it out already.

\- And you _shut up_ and listen to her.”

A few shocked gasps rose from the crowd of rebels. The massive cat’s head jerked towards the origin of the voice, who was none other than Lang. The latter held her chin up defiantly, and both cats held each other’s glare for a long, long moment. My-Khanh could’ve sworn there was something else hanging in the air between the two cats, but she couldn’t quite tell what.

And this wasn’t the moment to think about that!

“Thank you, Lang. Um...so. Have you considered not fighting against the royals?”

The long-furred rebel turned her attention back onto the pale cat, one eyebrow raised in disbelief.

_She hasn’t cut me off this time!_ She felt herself relax just a little bit, but just enough to regain her confidence.

“We believe it might be more productive to talk to them instead of killing each other. All this bloodshed isn’t leading any of us anywhere.

\- So,” Hau piped up, “we’re here to be your mediators!

\- That’s right,” his sister nodded. “Will you let us talk about your struggles to the royals on your behalf?”

There was a moment of silence. She felt the crowd behind the battle-scarred cat staring at her, which made her a little uncomfortable. But beside her, she could feel the support of her allies, and Hau even touched her flank with the tip of his tail to reassure her. She breathed in. Then out. _It’s going to be fine. Our solution just makes sense._

And then the rebel laughed.

“Absolutely not.

\- What?”

My-Khanh couldn’t stop her surprised reaction from coming out. She heard scoffing from the cats who were gathered behind the massive she-cat.

“I said no,” she asserted, her tone final. Then she stepped forward and pushed the thin she-cat, who stumbled to the ground. “Now get out of here and run back home.”

She couldn’t believe it. And apparently neither could Hau and the others. Except maybe Lang could, but she had her back turned to the red cat, so she couldn’t confirm it. She got back on her feet quickly and walked up to the rebel.

“Please be reasonable! This-”

The cream-coloured face was suddenly inches away from her. She could feel the intensity of her blue glare and the rebel hissed.

“Leave _now_ , before I tear your ears off.”

The siamese stumbled back and bumped into Lang.

“Let’s go. It’s no use trying to argue with her.

\- But-

\- Lang’s right,” one of the others agreed. He then dropped his voice. “Besides, she’s really really scary…”

The she-cat huffed, then swished her massive tail to the other rebels as a signal to follow her, then she vanished into the undergrowth with a final glare at them. And as the rest of the cats passed by, several of them hissed, scowled or laughed at them. One even got so daring as to try and swipe at them with claws out, but Lang reacted quickly and smacked him in the face. My-Khanh didn’t have enough willpower to scold her for that, so instead she simply turned around. 

_So that’s it? That’s all?_

Disappointment dropped like a heavy stone in her gut. As she headed back to the riverbank with the others, she pondered how things might’ve gone differently. What if they had encountered another rebel? One who would’ve listened a little more? What if she had been more convincing? Surely that cat hadn’t taken her seriously because she had sensed her nervousness. What if she had asked the crowd instead of the leading cat? What if-

“Hey, wait.”

She only realized Hau has spoken up when she noticed she was the only one still walking.

“Where were they going anyway?”

Lang heaved a massive groan.

“ _Please_ don’t tell me you want to go back there.”

Hau turned to look at her, his tail flicking left and right.

“Maybe they were going to fight the military. Maybe they’d listen to us then!”

My-Khanh lifted her head, her eyes rounding in thought.

“That’s-

\- That’s so _fucking_ stupid! Military or not, they’re not going to listen. 

\- No,” My-Khanh cut in. “I think it’s a good idea.”

Lang’s head whipped around in disbelief.

“What?

\- Come on, let’s follow their scent.”

The siamese held her head high, hope filling her paws with new strength. Hau and one of the cats followed, while the other gave his red companion a friendly nudge.

“Come on, Lang, have a little faith!”

The scarred cat gave the other cat a long stare and stepped away from him, then walked ahead.

“Tell me that again when we get beat up by the rebels,” she muttered.

 

_I’m going to kill these twats if I see them again._

Chandra was fuming. Who did that cat think she was, just waltzing up to her and saying dumb shit like “hey maybe don’t fight the cats who are killing you?”. Because that absolutely made sense, right? Just let yourself get killed and everything will be fine. Oh and also we’ll have a friendly chat about how best to murder all of you. A perfect plan!

Of course, she wasn’t expecting much more from a kshatriya. The necklace she had betrayed her caste. These cats had _no idea_ what sort of things they had to go through. They thought they knew better, since they were oh so high and mighty, but had any of them gone out of their way to come to the lower castes, to talk to them and understand how twisted the system was? Of course not. She only knew _one cat_ who had done that, and that was none other than their leader.

“Hey Chandra!”

She lifted her head sharply as she heard her name called. Up there in a tree, she saw the long and elegant face of her friend and fellow rebel, Kannitha. The two had known each other for a long, long time, and along with Khang and Thao, they had naturally been the ones to instigate the revolution. And today, they were leading an attack against Sunkang together. She had told her to meet her not far from the riverbank at around noon so that she and her fellow lithe cats could go on ahead and start attacking. Then it would be easy for Chandra’s unit to barge in and finish the job.

“Took you long enough!” Kannitha meowed with a smirk. “Did you get hungry on the way here?”

Chandra rolled her eyes. As if she’d get distracted by that.

“A bunch of stupid kids from Khuam stopped us to talk about some mediator bullshit. Sent them running back home.

\- Huh,” she arched her brow. “That’s unfortunate. But hey, change of plans.” She pointed her feathery tail towards the general direction of Sunkang. “The military are coming to us today.”

The battle-scarred cat blinked in surprise. Not only was it surprising to see them coming into Sogan, but it was also incredibly stupid. _We know this place better than they do._

“How about we hand their asses over to them,” Kannitha suggested with narrowed, sparkling eyes, her smirk not faltering, “nice and clean?

\- I’m in,” the massive cat nodded. She then turned to the cats behind her. “Circle the area, then wait for the signal.”

 

“They’re over there!”

My-Khanh stopped in her tracks and looked around. She smelled the air and picked up a trace of the rebels: it was faint, but pretty recent. 

“I see them too!” Hau meowed. “And…”

He ducked, his stomach almost touching the floor. The other cats did the same thing.

“The military’s there,” he whispered. “I can hear them

\- Fantastic,” Lang said sarcastically. “We just _had to_ get caught in the middle of a battle.”

The others ignored her remark. Hau shuffled closer to his sister and pointed to a pale shape up in a tree.

“My-Khanh, can you see that pale thing in that tree?”

She squinted. But of course, that didn’t work. But she _did_ see a flash of pale fur inbetween the leaves.

“I...I think I do. Is that a rebel?

\- Yep.

\- Rebels!”

A strong, booming voice echoed through the forest. It immediately sent a chill down the siamese’s spine. _I know that voice._ She lifted her tail as a “stay down” for her companions.

“We know you’re here. Show yourselves!”

Another voice piped up. “We’re here to kick your sorry butts!”

A hiss scolded the cat who had just spoken. “Quiet, Miu.”

A pale purple shape emerged from the undergrowth, her frowning look fixed on the trees ahead. My-Khanh’s hearbeat quickened.

“We’ll rat you out ourselves if you don’t show yourselves, rebel scum!”

 

Kannitha narrowed her eyes. _Well well well, if it isn’t Miss Heir Princess._ She shot a glance down at Chandra, whose tail flicked to inform her that her cats were ready.

The pale she-cat’s muscles bunched, and she leapt off her branch.

 

Sudden movement alerted My-Khanh: the rebel Hau had spotted had just jumped out of her tree.

And before she could think, the siamese leapt out of hiding and barreled into the pale cat.

 

_What the fu-_

Kannitha was sent flying off into the bushes. She landed hard on the ground with a loud _thump_ , and she looked up, her purple eyes widened in shock and disbelief. A siamese cat was standing where she had been hit.

_Who the fuck is that?_

 

“Stop!”

The purple cat in front of her froze. Her blue eyes widened.

“What are you-

\- Fighting is pointless!” My-Khanh shouted. “You all need to talk with words instead of claws!”

Adrenaline coursed through her body. Her flanks heaved as she panted from the sudden effort.

“You absolute fucking _idiot,_ I told you to _leave!_ Rebels, attack!”

And in a fraction of seconds, cats erupted from all sides.

My-Khanh stepped back, suddenly realizing that she was at the very centre of a _very real battle_ , but she was violently kicked to the ground in the back. That effectively knocked the air out of her, and she barely had time to spin around that she felt intense, _burning_ pain in her ear. Hot liquid dripped on her face, and as she shook her head, she recognized the rebel from earlier looming over her, a brown chunk of something she assumed was her ear in her claws.

A wildfire of panic erupted in her chest. Her lungs suddenly felt very tight, her impaired vision flickered and her head spun.

_No!_

“My-Khanh!”

Her brother’s shrill scream pierced through the fighting noises all around her, effectively but brutally stopping her from spiraling. She felt dazed as she saw Hau’s pale shape flinging himself at the rebel. The latter’s reflex was to roll sideways and on her back, with resulted in a loud screech from the siamese cat. Another cat leapt at Hau’s rescue and tried swiping at the massive cat’s exposed belly, but a slender cat lunged at him and pinned him down.

“I don’t know who the fuck you are,” Kannitha snarled, “but _get out of here._ This isn’t your battle.”

 

The pale rebel had attacked her ally. And yet Lang couldn’t bring herself to jump at her.

_I...I can’t do it. Not to her. Not now._

She whipped her head around and caught sight of My-Khanh’s brother being pinned down by Chandra. He was badly bruised and bleeding heavily from several wounds, and his attacker was raising one paw, about to strike. Lang’s fur pricked: this blow would kill the thin cat.

She immediately lunged at the massive cat and swiped across her face with her claws out. That made the opponent flinch, and gave Hau enough time to get up and dash to his sister, who was being helped up by another of their allies.

“My-Khanh,” he panted, “are you alright?

\- Let’s...let’s get out of here.” She coughed, then raised her voice. “Pacifists, we’re going home!”

The three cats took off into the undergrowth. Kannitha let go of the cat she had been holding down. Chandra grabbed Lang by the scruff and tossed her away like a piece of prey. The red cat hissed at her indignantly.

“Go back to your new little friends and don’t come back,” she snarled.

And with a final hiss, the pacifist ran after her leader.

 

Moments after Lang had left, Kannitha skidded to a halt next to Chandra.

“Hate to say this, but we have to go, too. We’re outnumbered.”

_So she hasn’t seen them._

“Rebels, retreat!” the tall cat screamed.

Several cats around them gave their opponent a final bite, swipe or kick, and then dashed into the bushes. The two leading cats glared at the enemy soldiers, then fled as well.

 

“That’s right! Run away and die!”

For the second time in such a short time, Miu was scolded and smacked across the face by her superior.

All around Hanhvy, the fighting stopped. She swept the troops with a glance, judging how hurt they were. Thankfully, this had been an unusually short battle, so there were no serious wounds to be seen.

“We’re going home,” she declared.

The cats slowly streamed out of the rebel jungle. The purple cat was about to follow them, but something made her stop. She turned around slowly, the fur along her spine pricking in anticipation and her gaze darting around the branches. It suddenly hardened into an icy glare as she spotted a bright orange glow coming from beyond the trees. 

“So you’re here too,” she snarled.

A massive shape stepped out of the shadows. This was a tom. He strode through the undergrowth, his muscles rippling under his powerful, long-furred shoulders. His fur was brown, but a thick mane of white fur gave him an almost regal air. His chest was parted by a large scar, which snaked from his sternum down to his stomach. He also wore two scars on one of his dark front paws, and the white stripe on his back was crossed by another memory of an old battle. On one side of his face, three white stripes were drawn across his eye, while three dark brown stripes slid under his other eye. And on the corner of his mouth, two small scars cut from his lip to his chin. Anyone would’ve trembled and cowered in fear at the sight of such a formidable cat.

But not Hanhvy. Her whiskers merely twitched in disdain.

Neither cat said anything. Orange eyes met blue ones, and not a bird dared sing.

“What?” Hanhvy spat, a mix of nervousness and hatred seeping through her belly. “You’re just going to stand there and say nothing?

\- All I have to say is this.”

The deep voice almost startled the purple cat. The rebel leader closed his eyes, then opened them again. This time, his gaze was blazing with fury and determination.

“Death to the monarchs. Death to the system. And especially, death to _you._ ”

Silence hung in the air. The soldier let out a low, prolonged hiss, and for a moment, she thought she’d leap at him. But instead, she stormed off, following the others.

Khang stared after her for a moment through narrowed eyes, then whipped around and disappeared in the bushes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oopsie
> 
> comments are always appreciated!! <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i like making my characters suffer. sorry not sorry

“Well, that was a disaster.

\- Shut up, Lang.”

My-Khanh was too busy helping Hau walk to scold Lang. But what would she even say? She was right. This had been a complete disaster. Her stomach was twisted in a million knots of disappointment, intense guilt and worry. Her brother was in an  _ awful  _ state. He was covered in bruises and bleeding wounds, with one especially nasty one on the side of his neck. His blue gaze was unfocused and clouded with pain as he limped onward. Making him cross the river had been difficult, but thankfully she had been fully ready to dive in the churning waters and save him. Even though she didn’t know anything about swimming. 

“It’s not my fault it was a  _ stupid _ idea!” Lang spat.

“Well you don’t need to make this  _ worse _ !” 

My-Khanh saw her brother flinch as the two cats argued. She turned her head towards them and with a husky, tired voice, declared:

“Stop it, both of you. We will discuss this at home.”

The cats glared at each other for a moment and their leader thought they might ignore her and start bickering again, but the red cat turned her head away with a huff. She sighed and went back to carefully holding Hau up and making sure he didn’t trip on anything. Thank goodness she knew Khuam like the back of her paw.

“Oh dear! What happened to you all?”

The cats raised their head in unison. The cat who had spoken was up in a tree, looking down at them with a horrified look. She had pale blue and purple fur, and her pelt was covered in scars. She swiftly leapt down the tree and almost ran towards them, her paws barely skimming the forest floor. As she stopped, the newcomer blinked at them, her wide blue eyes filled with wonder and fear.

“Uh...hello?” Hau’s voice was barely audible.

The cat looked startled for a moment, then shook her head.

“Oh, where are my manners? My name is Chantrea.”

My-Khanh was almost sure she felt Lang tensing up and turning her head away. She didn’t give it much thought however, and instead she waved her tail at herself and her companions.

“We’re...hurt.”  _ Congratulations for stating the obvious. _

“I can see that!” Her large ears drooped. “Do you all want to come to my home so I can patch you up?

\- Oh, that’s...that’s really nice of you, but we...already have a home.

\- Then I’ll come with you. I can’t just leave you all to-” Her gaze had drifted from one cat to another and then it landed on… “Lang?”

The red cat flinched as Chantrea’s eyes widened, in sync with the other cats. The small, scarred cat refused to meet the blue cat’s gaze, and that puzzled the siamese cat greatly.  _ Do they know each other? _

Chantrea opened her mouth to speak, then shook her head without saying anything.

“Let’s get you back home, we need to get those wounds treated.”

_ I guess we’ll hear more from that later. _ “Okay,” My-Khanh sighed. “Follow me.”

The pale cat placed herself on Hau’s other side and helped him walk alongside his sister. She threw her a thankful glance.

 

Shocked gasps erupted from the rest of the pacifists as they arrived. Quanq-Thieu pushed through the crowd and his eyes widened at the sight of Hau’s wounds.

“What…” he stammered, “What happened?

\- Did you meet the rebels?

\- Of course they did! Look at those wounds!

\- Why are you hurt?

\- Didn’t they listen?

\- Who’s  _ that _ ?”

The shower of questions almost threw My-Khanh off her paws.  _ How am I going to tell them how terribly I failed them? _ She chose to reply to the last question only.

“This...This is Chantrea. She insisted on coming to treat our injuries.”

She heard the scuttling of little paws and the grunts of a little cat trying to make her way to them, but Quanq-Thieu stopped her from advancing any farther.

“Is this bad?” Vanna asked with a small voice.

“I think it is,” the yellow and white cat replied.

And then, the weight on My-Khanh’s shoulder was lifted. She looked down sharply and realized that Hau had fainted, and a pool of blood started forming around his neck injury. The gathered cats all stepped back with gasps of shock.

“Oh no, I need to treat him  _ now _ ,” Chantrea said, her voice tight. She looked at My-Khanh, who was staring down at her brother with huge eyes, frozen on the spot. “Where’s your den?”

My-Khanh couldn’t reply. A massive chill ran down her spine as she stared at the blurry shape at her paws. 

_ He’s going to die. My brother is going to die. _

Vivid images flashed in her mind. Images she had never wanted to see again. Images that made her breathing stop.

_ Please, Hau, I’m begging you, stay with me! I can’t… _

Her thoughts started whirling wildly. What would she do? She couldn’t go on leading these cats without him. What would become of them? What would happen to Vanna? Would she be captured by the rebels and killed? What about  _ her? _ What would she do? How could she-

“My-Khanh?”

A small paw prodded her in the chest and snapped her out of her thoughts. She blinked several times and looked around her: Hau was no longer on the ground, he had disappeared, and so had Chantrea and Quanq-Thieu. Panic began rising in My-Khanh’s chest.

“Quanq-Thieu took the lady to your den,” Vanna meowed. “They’re taking care of Hau. Apparently he’s going to be alright.”

_ Apparently. _ She shut her eyes tightly.

“Hey, My-Khanh…” Vanna’s voice sounded really worried. “You…” she seemed to be searching for words. “You can’t do anything for Hau right now. He’s...he’s being cared for!

\- Yes,” the siamese replied, her voice husky, “cared for by a stranger!

\- Hey, she was full of scars but she looked perfectly healthy!” the princess protested. “Quanq-Thieu seemed to trust her too for some reason. So you have no reason to worry!”

The tall she-cat didn’t reply. She simply turned around and started heading for the exit. However, Vanna dashed ahead and stopped in front of her.

“No! You can’t leave now!” She gestured to the others, who were crowding around the returning cats with wide eyes. “They need you. They need to know what happened!”

The colourpoint stayed silent, not meeting Vanna’s gaze. The golden cat headbutted her in the legs to make her turn around.

“Come on, I’ll sit right next to you if you want to!”

She reluctantly stepped back and headed for the root. Her wounds were still itching, but she gritted her teeth and tried to push the pain aside. The cats in the hollow instinctively turned to her as she rose above the crowd. As she promised, Vanna sat beside her and gave her a bright smile of encouragement.

_ Hau is normally the one who does that. _

“Everyone…” she declared, trying to look the least bit dignified as she straightened up, “this mission was...a failure.”

_ And that’s underselling it. _

A familiar voice rose from the gathered cats.

“A fucking  _ disaster  _ is what it was.”

Several cats hissed at Lang. 

“We tried to talk to the rebels, however they...didn’t listen to us. We...we saw they were going to battle the military so we...we tried to step in but as you can see…” she gestured to her injuries, “we failed.

\- And they fucking obliterated us.”

Again, another wave of hissing followed Lang’s statement. She bristled and she yelled:

“This is so fucking  _ stupid! _ You’re all delusional, thinking we can solve this  _ war _ by just talking! Look where that got us! Look at Hau! He might be dying as we speak!”

My-Khanh flinched. Vanna’s fur rose in distress as she called out to the red cat:

“But we can still try again! They’ll listen eventually!

\- This isn’t a fairytale, princess,” the bristling cat snapped. “This is the real world, and this kind of stuff  _ never _ works in the real world.

\- She’s right,” another cat agreed with Lang. “The rebels are violent and we all know it!

\- The war has been a bloody one so far, and it will continue to be!

\- But we can change that!

\- Can we, though?”

The cats began arguing. Vanna took a few steps back, her ears folded against her skull. She didn’t know what to do. What could she do? Who would listen? She tried to shut out the yelling, but she couldn’t. She wished it would just  _ stop. _

“SILENCE!”

Everyone collectively stopped arguing as their leader had screamed. Her tail was lashing as she scanned the crowd. The princess looked up at her with wide, surprised eyes. My-Khanh could feel her stare, and honestly, she shared her surprise. She wasn’t one to snap like that. But the stress accumulating on her nerves only led to that. And she knew it, because it had already happened before.

She lifted her head and took a deep breath.

“I will think about our situation. Then I will inform you about our future. For now, we all need to rest. And while Chantrea is treating Hau, I will tend to your wounds. Come here,” she finished, with a sweep of her tail to the injured cats. 

She leapt down the root, quickly followed by Vanna who said that she would help. The three cats gathered around her and she began sniffing at the wounds carefully, judging how serious it was. She felt Lang’s annoyance coming off of her in waves, but she chose to ignore it.

Meanwhile, Hau’s breathing had gotten steadier. He was covered in green paste, a result of Chantrea’s treatment. Quanq-Thieu had sat from a distance and watched as she had worked on the unconscious cat. Now, he looked more relaxed. It was just as if he were sleeping. The blue and purple cat stepped away from him.

“Is he…” The tom murmured. “Is he going to be alright?

\- I believe so. His condition has stabilized. All he needs is to make it through the night and with plenty of rest and food, he’ll be fine.

\- Oh, great.”

He let out the most massive sigh of relief. The she-cat turned around and started gathering her leftover herbs that she had found not far from there. Quanq-Thieu watched silently. Then he remembered.

“Oh, right! I have two questions for you!”

Chantrea looked up with puzzled eyes, but flicked her ears as a sign for him to go on.

“First, um...I thought you were dead? And then, where did all those scars come from? I mean, last time I saw you, you didn’t have them.”

Her gaze grew even more puzzled.

“I though you knew?

\- Knew what?”

Irritation flared in her blue eyes.

“No, of course she wouldn’t tell you.” She sighed. “Well, um...when I ‘died’, I was...actually taken hostage by your mother.”

Quanq-Thieu’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. But at the same time...that sounded like something his mother would do. Unfortunately.

“But...why? Why would she do that?

\- I was pregnant,” she looked away as sorrow clouded her gaze. “And she knew, she knew all she had to do was wait for me to give birth, wait until my kits were old enough to not need my milk anymore, and then kick me out.”

What kind of cat would do such a horrible thing?  _ Well...my mother. _

“Wait...wait so you mean-”

Chantrea still didn’t meet his gaze, but she nodded.

_ Her kits are still back there.  _

 

Anyone would’ve thought a storm had been raging outside the palace and knocking especially hard on the windows. But no, that was just Hanhvy returning from a mission in a furious mood. Furious not because it had failed or anything: on the contrary, it had gone perfectly, since they had sent the rebels running back home. Objectively, it had been a perfect first mission with her leading it, and Generals An-Toan and Luong had even congratulated her. No, she was furious because she had let them escape without a word about her sister. She  _ knew _ she was with them. She  _ knew _ they had kidnapped her. But they had attacked way too early, before she could finish screaming at them. And they had been interrupted, too. Oh, and what was  _ she _ doing there? How could  _ she _ vanish from her life for so long and then reappear in the middle of a battle out of the blue? How?  _ Why? _

There were too many questions piling up inside Hanhvy’s head. She stormed into one of the all-purpose rooms the palace had and struck one of the wooden pillars with all her might. And immediately regretted it as she winced in flaring pain.

_ Fuck. _

Several of her claws had broken with the impact, and she had probably twisted her paw as well, seeing from the blazing pain as she tried to move it. And now a decent amount of blood was staining her fur and dripping on the floor. She hissed through her teeth in pain and frustration.

“Oh! Princess Hanhvy- are you alright?”

Hanhvy had been so caught up in her own anger that she hadn’t seen that Sopheary, the Head Priestess, had been there before she had stormed in. The long-furred brown and white cat hurried to the princess’ side and reached out for her paw, but the purple cat snatched it away.

“Oh yeah, I’m perfectly fine! I only just came back from a  _ disastrous _ mission in Sogan, my sister’s still being held by the rebels and now  _ blood _ is coming out of my paw! So yeah, everything is  _ perfectly fine! _ ”

Sopheary flinched. Silence hung between them as she avoided the princess’ gaze. The purple cat’s stomach started filling with guilt. The priestess took a few steps back and went to inspect the clawed pillar. There were pretty nasty claw marks left on it. Hanhvy stared at her, then tried to lick her paw. That only resulted in pain. She let out an “ _ ow! _ ” that made the brown and white cat turn around. They briefly stared at each other.

“I…” Hanhvy meowed. “I’m sorry for snapping at you. I really am.”

The priestess smiled softly.

“It’s alright,” she replied. “I know how frustrating these missions can be.” 

She walked back to the princess and angled her ears at her paw.

“Can I help you with that?

\- Yes,” she replied, still feeling guilty. “Yes please.”

The big, long-furred she-cat took the other’s paw gently and inspected it carefully.

“Oh, several of your claws are broken. Just wait a moment…”

Hanhvy let out a screech- scratch that, several screeches as Sopheary snatched the broken claws with her teeth. She dropped them on the ground as the princess protested:

“That hurt!

\- It’ll only hurt for a minute, I assure you. Your claws will grow back. For now, lick them clean and follow me, I’ll treat the rest.”

She had almost forgotten she still had injuries from the fight in Sogan. Sopheary started walking away and she followed her, still limping because of her twisted paw.

“By the way, um...what’s your name?”  _ Idiot. You know her name. Everyone does. _

She didn’t seem to mind that, however. She simply replied with “My name is Sopheary, Princess Hanhvy.

\- Oh...Just Hanhvy is fine.”

Sopheary gave her a surprised look, then smiled. “Oh, alright.”

 

“I’ll  _ kill  _ that little bitch!”

Just when Thao had been enjoying the quiet of the camp, just for once. And she knew perfectly who that voice belonged to. She flicked her notched ear as she heard several cats entering the clearing. She stretched her limbs and got off the rock she had been lying on. She caught sight of An, a little red and cream cat, getting out of the den she shared with her brother. Her orange eyes were wide and she met Thao’s gaze, but the tall cat only returned a similar puzzled look.

“Who the  _ fuck _ does she think she is?

\- Whoa, how about you start calming down?”

Kannitha and Chandra emerged from the bushes. Both looked ruffled and scratched, as usual after a fight, but the siberian cat looked extremely furious. Kannitha let out an enormous sigh. Thao understood her: dealing with an angry Chandra was not easy.

“Go treat the others,” she said to An, who was already getting out her stash of herbs. She walked to her friend and mate and asked “What happened to you-

\- A bunch of interfering dipshits is what happened!

\- Hey,” Kannitha put in, “can you maybe stop shouting?

\- No, I can’t, can  _ you _ maybe stop interrupting me? 

\- Stop it, both of you.”

A massive shape came out of the undergrowth behind them. He raised his head and headed for the tallest rock in the clearing and jumped on it effortlessly, which was not surprising considering his size. 

“Rebels,” Khang declared, his voice booming through the clearing. “Today’s attack did not go as expected, but it seems the military is starting to get more daring and now wants to attack us in our own territory. I will tell you more in due time, but for now I must speak with the other leaders.”

Chandra’s tail lashed in anger as she marched towards the rock and walked around it, vanishing in the bush behind it. Khang followed her swiftly, and so did Thao and Kannitha after swapping a glance.

They quickly arrived at their usual meeting place. There was a large, flat rock not far from the riverbank, where the water’s noises was quiet enough to be relaxing but loud enough to cover the sound of their voices in case any curious cats wanted to eavesdrop on them. Chandra was pacing back and forth, and Thao had to grab her by the scruff to get her to finally sit down. 

“So,” she said with her usual cool and collected voice, “what happened?

\- I told you:” Chandra hissed, “interfering dipshits.

\- Kannitha?

\- Well, she’s not wrong,” the balinese replied. “I was about to attack them when this she-cat tackled me out of nowhere. She was talking about ‘talking it out’ and stuff like that.

\- I saw her and her little friends before arriving at the place where Kannitha was,” Chandra said, her voice just a tad calmer. “Blabbering about the same ‘let’s talk to the royals instead of fight them’ bullshit.”

Khang nodded as he listened to the two she-cats’ words. 

“Chandra also gave their leader a good fucking scare by the way,” Kannitha laughed. “Next time you see her, look at her torn ear. That’s Chandra’s work.

\- Oh and,” the massive siberian cat’s head lifted sharply as she remembered. “That cat and her brother I think were the same who rescued the princess. The golden one.”

The brown and white cat’s orange eyes lit up in interest.

“They have the princess?

\- Yup,” Kannitha confirmed with a nod. “At least I think so. High chances.

\- I do not believe they will be coming back,” Thao said. “If Chandra gave them such a good scare - which I do not doubt - surely they will be staying away. We do not have to worry about them.”

Chandra huffed, as if she had been offended that her mate had doubted the quality of her scare. The siamese cat only replied with a flick of her tail and a little smile.

“Still,” Khang’s deep voice rose. “We should keep an eye on them. If they do happen to have the princess, they might be of use to us.” He met the other she-cats’ eyes. “Imagine if we could get them to let us use Princess Vanna as a hostage. The royals would stop attacking us. And that could be a great way to get them while they aren’t looking.”

Chandra nodded, but Kannitha and Thao exchanged a hesitant glance.

“I will agree to that,” Thao said, “but only if no harm comes to the princess. We will merely use her as a hostage, but we will spare her.”

Khang nodded to her respectfully.

“Of course, Thao. I wouldn’t dream of harming children.”

The tall cat nodded, satisfied.

“I will share these news with the rest of us then,” the leader declared, standing up from his place. “For now, Kannitha and Chandra, you both go and get your injuries treated.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are appreciated!!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw rape mention

Chattering rose from the semi-circle below. As the time drew closer, the seats of the sokhdomese Parliament filled while the Chancellor was carefully sorting papers up on his ledge. The room was quite large and in the shape of a half moon. There were four small dips on the floor where several cushions were laid in shades of red, orange, yellow and pale gold. Several cats were assembled around or on the pale gold ones, while there was only one of them sitting next to the sole red cushion. She kept throwing hostile glares at the cats on the opposite side of the room, while the two cats sitting in the dip next to hers watched uncomfortably. The cats in the yellow-cushioned dip did not seem to care much for the three cats.

The Parliament was the only place where kshatriyas, vaishyas, sudras and untouchables could be seen in a relatively peaceful environment. All of these cats were representatives for their own caste, carrying the will and complaints of their companions. And as always, the lower castes were left with the short end of the stick, since sudras only had two representatives and the untouchables only had one.

Of course, no one cared much. Especially the Chancellor. He regulated (and dominated) every debate from his square-shaped ledge, placed a certain length up as to show that he was not allowed to take part in the discussions and was only here to make sure the cats below didn’t kill each other. Which, sometimes, was no easy task.

Sahn lifted his head and flicked his ears in annoyance as he caught sight of pale purple fur up in one of the balconies. There were several of them placed on the walls for the people who wanted to watch the Parliament sessions, and Princess Hanhvy was often one of these people. Which was beyond infuriating for the tall cat, since she would always find a way to make the day’s debate come back to her father quicker than him. And of course, her words would be laced with spite and her biased outlook on everything. 

_ And here I thought that Tevy’s death meant I would be left in peace. It seems that she’s even more of a thorn in my side than her mother was. _

Sahn’s ear flicked again as he heard pawsteps from the entrance to his ledge. He sat up, folding his tail in front of his paws neatly and nodding respectfully as the King stepped in.

“Good morning, Your Majesty. What brings you here?”

Quan-Van let out a friendly laugh.

“Why, I came to say hello and wish you luck on today’s session!”

The chancellor said nothing. While he was certainly not as bad as his previous wife, the king sure was annoying, being so overly friendly. But then, that made it easier to get him on his side.

“I truly appreciate that, Your Majesty.”

There was a moment of silence. The dark pink cat looked hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but something stopped him. Or some _ one _ ?

“I...have been thinking of what you’ve told me, Chancellor,” he murmured at last. “About Vanna’s disappearance.”

Sahn’s ears swiveled towards him, surprise and interest gleaming in his blue eyes.

“Pray tell. I am curious about your thoughts, Your Majesty.

\- Well…” he kneaded the ground, as if he were a nervous child about to confess to eating one too many snacks. “Hanhvy  _ has _ been getting...weird, lately. I mean…” he quickly glanced at where his daughter was sitting and looked back at the chancellor. She probably wasn’t looking too hard in their direction. “She came back from leading her first mission with barely a scratch. She’d only twisted her paw after coming back to the Palace.” He shifted from one paw to the other uncomfortably. “Maybe she’s doing it on purpose? I mean, sparing the rebels? Because she’s secretly on their side?”

_ Wow, _ Sahn thought.  _ I don’t even have that much pushing to do. He makes up his own damning conclusions. _

“I hate to say this, Your Majesty,”  _ I absolutely don’t _ , “but I believe your reasoning may be correct.”

The fact that the chancellor didn’t fully confirm his thoughts made the king look even more uncomfortable.  _ Let him doubt a little more. _

“Thank you, Chancellor,” Quan-Van said after a moment of silence. “I will be leaving now. May the spirits guide your paws.”

Sahn stared after the long-furred cat through narrowed eyes, then whipped around to face the assembled cats below. The representatives had all arrived by now. The thin cat stretched his paw to grab the large stone on his desk and tapped it on the wood strongly. The noise echoed in the whole room and the chattering ceased.

“Let today’s Parliament session begin. May the spirits enlighten us all and let us strive to make our Kingdom a better one.”

The last phrase was murmured by all cats below, and even the Princess bowed her head at it. Even though she was still frowning.  _ She’s never happy about anything, is she? _

“Now, is there anything any of you would like to report anything? Would you like to bring any wrongdoings to the light of our Parliament?”

A loud snort echoed from the side of the room. The untouchable representative was lashing her tail, her fur rising along her spine.

“What kind of question is that?”

Sahn gave her a cool glance.

“It is a question.

\- A  _ stupid _ question is what it is.” She stood up. “As you all know, I run the Royal Library.”

Several growls and hisses emerged from the kshatriya side. Many, if not all of them, believed it was absolute blasphemy to have an  _ untouchable _ taking care of the most precious books and sources of information of the whole kingdom. However, since the library was placed in the middle of an untouchable neighbourhood, not a single kshatriya or vaishya had volunteered for the job. Why would they bother mixing their clearly superiour paws with the filthy untouchables, even if it was for the precious books?

The librarian hissed back and continued.

“And as such, I see many, many cats coming and going and telling me about how  _ awful _ it is, to live as they are. Members of their family get mauled, raped and  _ killed _ for being born in their caste!

\- May I, Your Eminence?”

Sahn nodded at the cat who had spoken: it was a skinny, pale grey cat who looked almost frail as he sat next to An-Toan. He straightened up, puffing out his chest and showing off his necklace with a shiny green stone at the end of it. His dark blue eyes were narrowed in a frown. 

_ High Judge Hien. _

He ran the whole judiciary system of Sokhdom, and as such he was one of the most important members of the Parliament and the whole government. He also presided over the most important cases of the country, such as the trial for Queen Tevy’s murder.

Although he probably regretted it.

“As you know, there are several cases open for those  _ crimes _ you speak of.” There was an edge to the word ‘crime’, as if he didn’t personally believe they were crimes. “And they are mostly accidents or mere blunders that are not worthy of our attention.

\- Huh. I can  _ sort of _ understand killing or hitting someone on accident, but, excuse me, how do you _ rape _ on accident?

\- That is not the subject at hand, Representative,” Sahn declared as he banged his stone on his desk. “I will ask you to stay on topic.”

She whipped around, bristling furiously.

“I  _ am _ staying on topic. My fellow untouchables are being horribly wronged and nothing is happening to make it right!

\- As I said,” Hien meowed as he flexed his claws, “These cases are being taken care of.”

The chancellor banged the stone again before the untouchable would reply. 

“Enough. We have important matters to discuss.”

 

These cats sure had very strange definitions of important. For them, the fancy imported food that wasn’t being imported anymore was more important than  _ actual lives _ . Hanhvy cussed at them inwardly. It was a shame she wasn’t allowed to step in. Brahmins were the only caste who weren’t allowed to sit in the Parliament, since they were the ones who approved of the Parliament’s decisions and they had to let them discuss them in peace. So instead, she simply watched. And as soon as a session was finished, she went straight for her father and reported the daily news before the Chancellor and his twisted version of the facts could get to his ears. That cat would do anything to have things going his way, and he was scaringly good at convincing people.

Hanhvy hated him.

Movement caught her attention. She looked sideways, and caught sight of Sopheary, who was waving at her from a balcony a distance away from her. She waved back. The Grand Priestess was really sweet. They had talked for a long time after she had treated her paw, and now she could walk on it without pain. It had been nice to speak to a friendly cat who didn’t look wary of her.  _ Special kudos to her for still being nice to me after I first lashed out at her. _ Anyone would’ve given up past that point.

 

Later that night, Hanhvy slipped out of her room and headed for the large one that was meant for the Parliament evenings. She only walked towards it halfheartedly however: last time this had happened, Vanna had still been here. It had been two weeks since she had disappeared. And there were still no news of her. As she entered the bright room, she spotted her father and his wife conversing with some cats. And she stood there. She felt her stomach sinking as she remembered how happy her little sister had been when she had come here. 

She missed her so much. Her bubbly and cheerful presence had always been a breath of fresh air and no matter what happened, this adorable little cat always believed in her and supported her. Someday when one of her fellow students in the military had particularly annoyed Hanhvy, the golden cat had even threatened to fill his room with bees. Even when she was in a really bad mood, Vanna stayed by her side.

“Hey, Hanhvy!”

She snapped out of her thoughts and turned towards the origin of the voice, as did many other cats with surprised round eyes. Sopheary was walking towards her with a wide smile.

“Do you want to eat with us?”

The princess blinked.

“ _ Us? _ Who’s us?

\- Oh! That’s me, my sister and a friend of ours! He’s really, really sweet.”

She swore she’d seen her cheeks become a little rosy, but a blink later it was gone.

“Um...yeah, sure!”

If their friend was as nice as both Sopheary and Mliss, it would be a nice evening. The brown and white tabby lifted her tail happily.

“Then follow me!”

She turned around and led her through the crowd of cats. She spotted the Head of the Priestesses’ Guard quickly, and she saw a brown cat sitting with his back to the two newcomers. Mliss caught sight of them two and waved with a smile. 

“Hi there!”

Sopheary sat next to her sister, and Hanhvy sat between the priestess and her friend. And as she looked up at him, she froze. That white moustache-shaped marking was unmistakable.

The cat squirmed uncomfortably under the purple cat’s stare. And she hadn’t even noticed she was staring.

“Um...hi, I’m Hanhvy. Just call me Hanhvy.

\- Hi,” the cat replied with an awkward smile. “I’m Sovann.” He paused. “And yes, I am the Chancellor’s son.”

_ Oh. Okay. _ Hanhvy did not know what to say. She hated the chancellor’s guts, and now his son was right there. What was he like? Did he support his father’s ways? Was he an asshole?

“Hey,” Mliss tapped the ground with her paw to catch the purple cat’s attention. “He agrees with his father as much as you do, Hanhvy. Don’t worry.”

_ Oh! Okay! _

“Yeah,” Sovann said as he started scratching the floor. “He’s...not the nicest cat around.

\- Oh yeah,” Hanhvy replied. “He’s a real asshole.”

The brown cat flinched.  _ Oh. Shit. Too harsh. _

“He’s not  _ that _ bad,” he said, trying to sound certain. “He can be nice when he wants to.

\- Sovann, we talked about this,” Mliss sighed. “It doesn’t matter if he’s nice sometimes. He’s still a pain in the ass.

\- Hey guys,” Sopheary cut in. “Can we talk about something else?”

Sovann gave her a thankful nod. Hanhvy murmured an apology.  _ I mean...I would feel bad if someone insulted my dad in front of me. But...my father isn’t a dick. Huge difference. _

Sovann’s blue eyes landed on Mliss, his long ears swiveling towards her and a smirk appearing on his face.

“Remember that one time when you tripped over a trash can and the contents fell on General An-Toan’s face?”

Mliss’ fur instantly rose indignantly while Sopheary exploded into laughter.

“Again, that was an accident you need to  _ stop bringing up _ !”

Hanhvy laughed along.

“I would’ve  _ died _ to see his face!

\- He didn’t yell at me,” Mliss admitted, “but he  _ did _ look pretty pissed. He avoided me for the rest of the week.

\- When was that?

\- Back when I was still a student. Such a long time ago.

\- Oh yes, because you’re  _ so old _ ,” Sopheary teased.

\- As old as Hien, really,” Sovann added.

\- Compare me to him one more time and you’re  _ dead. _ ”

And they chatted on. It was really,  _ really _ nice.

Some time later, two young cats came up to them, and the head priestess’ face lit up in joy.

“Thuy! Kunthea! Hi!

\- Hi Miss Sopheary,” the tallest cat, probably Thuy, replied, nodding respectfully. “How are you?

\- I’m fine!

\- Hi guys!” Sovann meowed with a smile. “How has your day been?

\- Great!” the other cat, Kunthea, replied.

\- Good enough,” Thuy grimaced. “The High Judge is as prickly as always.”

Hanhvy’s ears shot up as the pieces of the puzzle assembled in her head. Those two were Marshall Tam’s grandchildren, and the two cats Vanna had been talking to last time before their grandmother barged in and yelled at them.

“Where’s Miu?” Mliss asked. “Is she being punished again?

\- Nope,” the tall blue cat replied, gesturing his purple striped tail towards a spot where a small, pale brown cat with white stripes sat. “She’s just sulking over there.

\- I asked her to come,” Kunthea meowed, “but she said she didn’t want to talk to you, Miss Mliss.”

The general laughed.

“When does she  _ ever _ want to talk to me?”

It was sort of weird, the princess thought. Mliss was Miu’s teacher, it would make a little sense if she  _ wanted _ to talk to her. But then, did  _ she _ want to talk to  _ Tam? _ No siree. She turned her head towards the small cat, who glared at her in return. She suddenly remembered that time when Mliss had stood up to Tam as she had almost been beating up her granddaughter. Maybe that was why she hated her? That would give a perfect reason for the vindictive cat to punish Miu later.  _ It’s kind of sad, though. Mliss is great. _

Kunthea suddenly looked alarmed. She turned around, then nudged her brother to make him look over his shoulder. And as he did, his ears folded back.

“Oops. Here comes Tam. We better go. Goodbye everyone, and have a nice evening!”

And both siblings hurried off without waiting for a reply.

“They’re pretty nice,” Hanhvy mused.

“Yeah,” Sovann replied. “Too bad Tam gives them such a hard time.”

 

“I would be careful if I were you, Chancellor. Your son is surrounded by terrible influences.

\- Psh, ridiculous. My son may be a simpleton, but he’s smart enough to not forget where his loyalty lies. Unlike your children, General.”

Sahn gave An-Toan a meaningful look through narrowed eyes. The tall siamese merely dipped his head.

“Hanhvy’s influence is a dangerous one indeed.

\- I am always keeping an eye on Sovann,” the chancellor replied, his tone final. “He knows what’s best for him, and that is not angering me.

\- You sure are confident that he isn’t going to turn out like the princess.”

Sahn arched his brow at Hien’s remark.

“At least my son is not a  _ rebel. _ ”

The judge hissed, his head lowering to glare at the chancellor better. The maned cat stared back, his cool blue eyes holding the other cat’s gaze.

“You clearly do not seem to understand how dangerous that situation is,” he growled, low enough for only Sahn and An-Toan to hear. “The friendlier with other cats she gets, the more she gets to spread her  _ stupid _ ideas about equality. And when that happens, we are  _ all _ fucked.  _ Especially us. _ ”

Heavy silence hung between the three cats. The judge stared straight into the chancellor’s eyes, whose gaze did not waver. The royal guard’s blue eyes flicked from one cat to the other, awaiting the next reply. Only the twitching tip of his tail betrayed the discomfort he felt at the grey cat’s statement.

“That will not happen,” Sahn murmured. He would’ve hissed, but that would have been terribly lacking in class. “I am in control of the situation. And the way things are going, I expect we should not worry about that for much longer.”

 

The evening had gone by quite quickly. The monarchs had found themselves bidding their guests goodbye after what felt like a fraction of minutes. Tuyet stretched her tired limbs as she yawned. She kneaded the soft fabric of her bed with her paws, then her gaze slid towards her husband. He was giving himself a quick wash not far from their bed. She flopped down with a thump and scratched her face with her back paw.

“Quan-Van dear,” she meowed. “Did you see how Hanhvy made friends tonight? She spent the whole evening with the Grand Priestess, General Mliss and the Chancellor’s son, and they seem to be getting along quite-

\- Please don’t talk about Hanhvy.”

The queen stopped, her mouth half-open.  _ Is he not happy about his daughter finally having friends? Why? _

He shook his head.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you. It’s just…” he sighed. “It really is her fault that Vanna disappeared. I cannot see another reason why she would’ve gone into the jungle.”

Tuyet stared at her husband in disbelief. Did he really believe that? What had gotten into him? That reasoning made no sense! 

“Let’s sleep, my dear.”

He walked up to her, leapt on their bed and curled up around her. He laid his head on her flank and let out a long purr. She stared at him, her blue eyes wide with surprise.

_ I...I’ll talk to him tomorrow. _

 

_ I know  _ exactly _ who the fuck made him think that. _

Why else would her own father accuse her of causing her darling sister’s disappearance? It was so ridiculous she could barely believe it. She kneaded the ground angrily as she walked past the monarchs’ room.  _ If only they had closed their door, I wouldn’t have had to hear that. What the fuck. _

And as she walked in the corridors, she crossed the one cat she did not want to see.

“Good night, Your Majesty.”

Hanhvy merely glared at Sahn and did not reply. She vanished in the corner of a corridor as the tall cat stared after her.

 

“My-Khanh?”

The siamese stood tall in the highest branches of a tree. Her nose twitched as she picked up the scent of the newcomer.

“Hau! You should be resting!”

Her brother climbed the tree and sat down next to her.

“I’m fine. Chantrea says my wound is almost perfectly healed. She’s really nice, by the way.

\- ‘Almost’ isn’t ‘fully’!

\- Hey, stop worrying so much, I’m alright,” he poked her in the flank. “I wouldn’t have climbed this tree if I wasn’t alright.”

She sighed and looked back up. The half-moon shone brightly. A moment of silence passed before Hau asked:

“So...do you know what you’re going to tell them tomorrow? About what we’re going to do? And stuff?”   
She closed her eyes.

“I do.”

Hau’s ears pricked with interest.

“Lang is right. Only talking will never get them to listen to us.” She opened her eyes, and their green depths shone with determination. “We will fight. But not in the rebels’ vicious and bloody way. We will fight to earn their respect. Only when they see us as worthy opponents will they lend us an ear.”

She stared straight into her brother’s eyes, who was shaken by the intensity of her gaze.

“We will not cause severe harm to anyone, regardless of which side they’re fighting for. We will not kill anyone. We will fight, but we will fight to be heard.”

She took a deep breath.

“We are the Pacifists.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hanhvy? making friends? its more likely than you think
> 
> comments are appreciated!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is one of the last chill-ish chapters of kilbisam. buckle up bc its gonna go wild from here

“Okay, let’s think of something.”

A few days later, My-Khanh was sitting in a circle with Hau, Quanq-Thieu, Chantrea, Vanna and Lang in the siamese siblings’ den. The leader had told the Pacifists about her conclusion for their future and thankfully, they had all agreed. Most of them looked even more satisfied than when they had first joined, and new cats had even come to them. A lot of cats had volunteered to patrol the borders and keep an eye on the rebels and Sunkangese cats. Others had suggested they organize hunting patrols properly, and others (in the person of Lang) had strongly advised they started fighting lessons. My-Khanh had approved of all these ideas and appointed cats to manage those things: Quanq-Thieu was in charge of the border patrols, Hau and Vanna took care of the hunting and Lang led most of the fighting lessons, and was sometimes assisted by My-Khanh. And the latter mostly took care of the medicinal matters along with Chantrea, who had decided to join them as well. Quanq-Thieu had especially vouched for her, even though there was no need for it. 

“The hunting’s going well,” Hau announced. “We have a lot of good hunters and we sure won’t get hungry anytime soon.

\- That’s true! And the other day someone caught a bird  _ so big _ it was practically my size!”

Vanna’s excitable self had remained, despite being in a greatly unfamiliar environment, and frankly? That was a breath of fresh air.

“Our herb stocks are full,” Chantrea meowed. “We can handle any type of injuries now, even if there is a huge battle.

\- There hasn’t been any movement on the borders,” Quanq-Thieu continued. “Only the regular city guards have been getting close, but no farther than the riverbank.”

My-Khanh nodded.  _ Only good news so far. _

“Lang?”

The red cat grunted.

“A lot of them are really untrained. They fight like kittens.”

Chantrea gave them a flick of her tail. Apparently, they had known each other for a long, long time, but Lang refused to talk about the details, and the long-furred cat respected their decision and didn’t disclose anything.

“...but yeah, a lot of them fight pretty well. Almost got beaten the other day.  _ Almost _ ,” she insisted, glaring at Quanq-Thieu who was looking at her with wide, surprised eyes.

“That’s really good news,” My-Khanh mused. “How many cats do you think are ready for battle?

\- Many. We already have a solid army in my opinion.

\- Great.”

The leader was about to say something else when two cats came barging in, bristling and their eyes wide.

“Miss My-Khanh! Rebels! They’re walking towards the city! A lot of them!”

Vanna let out a gasp.

“Are any of their leaders with them?” My-Khanh asked.

“Yes,” one of the cats panted, “Chandra and Khang.”

The Pacifists had finally learned the rebels’ names, save for one, courtesy of Chantrea. But she had still refused to say why she knew them.

Speaking of whom, the scarred she-cat took a few steps back.

“I will be waiting here for you to come back, if you don’t mind.”

The tall siamese shook her head.

“It’s okay. You can stay with Vanna. Lang, round up our best fighters. Quanq-Thieu, Hau, you’re coming with us?

\- What?” Lang was about to head out but stopped in her tracks. “Hau  _ sucks _ at fighting. He’ll just be a burden on us!”

The siamese flinched, and Quanq-Thieu glared at the small cat. My-Khanh sighed.

“I...I can handle myself,” Hau stammered. “And if need be, I can still climb trees.

\- Lang, please go, we have little time to get ready,” his sister ordered.

The red cat let out a huge sigh, then darted out of the den, already yelling for cats to assemble. My-Khanh turned to her brother with a worried look.

“Will you be alright?”

He lifted his head and flicked his ear.

“Sure,” he replied. “And as I said, I can always be Squirrelcat and hide in the trees.”

She laughed, but it didn’t dissipate the nervous feeling in her gut.

This would be their first time fighting. And this time, she  _ could not _ afford to make any mistakes.

 

_ Oh dammit. Again? Don’t they know they’re at a disadvantage? _

Khang muttered inwardly as he picked up the scent of the Sokhdomese military. He and Chandra had been on their way to attack Sunkang, but once again these cats had come to ruin everything by attacking in the jungle. Which was a stupid decision. He sniffed the air once more and his nose wrinkled in disgust.

_ Of course the princess is leading. _

The tiniest pang of guilt that had hit his gut was quickly swept by hatred. This cat was the heir to the throne of this rotten country. And by extension, the incarnation of the caste system. Once she was queen, she would continue to make sure cats were  _ killed _ for something they could not help. For being born. The rebel leader’s thick tail lashed in anger.

“Watch that.”

Chandra had almost been hit by her friend’s tail as she walked up to him. He gave her an apologetic look, which she acknowledged with a flick of her torn ear (or more like, the remains of her ear).

“Those fuckers are at it again, huh,” she growled as she pointed towards the jungle with her nose.

“Yes. But this time, there will be no interference.”

The massive she-cat shook herself and her fur rose slightly. 

“There definitely won’t.”

She whipped around and bounded towards the rebels who were crowding behind them, barking orders.

And as the military got closer, Khang raised his tail for silence.

A single cat came out of the undergrowth. A short, long-furred purple cat with a blue necklace.

Khang felt a low growl rising in his throat. The white mane of fur around his neck started rising. The princess was staring through the trees, and even though he was well hidden behind a barrier of plants, it looked as if she were staring right at him, eyes narrowed. The leaves behind her rustled, a sign that there were many, many cats hiding and waiting for them to attack.

He turned his head to Chandra, whose belly fur brushed against the ground as she crouched into a battle position. She nodded to him.

The moment he leapt out of the undergrowth, cats swarmed the jungle from all sides.

Khang narrowly missed Hanhvy, who had ducked underneath him. She immediately jumped at him and dug her claws into his thick fur. He dropped to the ground and swiped at her face, leaving bloody trails on her cheek. She countered with a similar move, then dived and pushed him into a tree. The hit made the rebel leader dizzy, but he could still make out the shapes of the fighting cats around him. Chandra was wrestling with a dark brown and white she-cat. And Hanhvy stood in front of him, claws out and glaring at him with all the hatred she could muster.

The same hatred burned in Khang’s orange eyes.

 

“They’re even. I can’t recognize anyone aside from Hanhvy, Khang and Chandra.”

My-Khanh nodded at Hau’s indications. She had brought the Pacifists to the Sogan jungle, and she was now standing on top of a rock that gave them a clear view of the battlefield below. Lang stood beside them, their tail twitching. Whether it was in nervousness or something else, My-Khanh didn’t know. Behind them, Quanq-Thieu was going from cat to cat, trying to reassure the most nervous ones and giving out words of support. And after he was done, he climbed on the rock and sat next to Hau.

My-Khanh closed her eyes. 

_ This is it. _

She lifted her tail and the chattering behind her died. She heard the scuffling of their paws as they gathered around the rock, crouching and hissing. Lang held their head high, their paws firmly pressing against the mossy stone. Hau stood up, his tail waving left and right. Quanq-Thieu shook himself and stared at the battling cats below.

My-Khanh lifted her chin and opened her eyes.

“Pacifists,” she yowled, “Attack!”

 

_ What was that? _

Khang barely had time to register the words he had just heard when several cats crashed against his own and the military’s. A small red cat had knocked Chandra’s adversary to the ground and was now fighting the two of them. A lean siamese was swiping at a rebel’s face, ducking out of the way when they countered. Countless cats he did not know started fighting both the rebels and the Sunkangese cats. He jerked his head towards the princess, thinking this must have been a bluff on her part, but was surprised to see the same shock painted on her face. She met his gaze, probably expecting the same from him. 

Then they both turned their head to the origin of the scream, and saw a siamese cat standing tall on a large rock. She wore a necklace similar to Hanhvy’s, but her stone was of a sky blue tone. Her pale green eyes were unreadable. With a mightly leap, she flew over the battlefield and skidded to a halt a little distance away from the two leaders. She glared at them and lifted her head with pride.

“We are the Pacifists,” she said, her voice loud and clear. “And we’re here to stop you.”

As if on cue, a cat slammed into Khang. The attacker used that moment of surprise to strike him several times, their powerful claws digging into his fur and tearing strips of flesh away. He yowled, then whipped around to hit the cat’s head. They avoided it and knocked them away, only to then pin him to the ground.

Khang prepared himself to bounce back, but then he saw his attacker’s face.

 

_ What the fuck is he waiting for? _

From the corner of their eyes, Lang had seen Quanq-Thieu successfully wound then pin the rebel leader Khang to the ground. They were perfectly matched in size, which was an  _ enormous _ advantage for them. Lang, while rather muscular, was still pretty small and relied on speed more than strength. They would never have been able to hold the rebel down like that. But if they were in their ally’s place, they would’ve continued to attack. Which was the normal thing to do, in the middle of a battle.

So  _ why _ were they staring at each other like idiots? Why were neither of them attacking?

They let out a furious hiss as Quanq-Thieu stepped back and let Khang go. 

They would’ve instantly leapt at them both if their attacker hadn’t come back. The rebel had been distracted by another pacifist, which was a good thing because Lang was finding it hard to keep up with two opponents. The brown and white cat and them rolled away, clawing and hissing at each other furiously.

“Rebels! Retreat!”

They pushed the other cat off of them as they both heard Khang’s call. The red cat noticed Chandra giving her leader a surprised glare. However, she didn’t argue and gave her opponent one last swipe before retreating. Lang’s own opponent hissed at them, then headed in the opposite direction. She helped the princess get rid of her last rebel attacker, then they both ran for the bushes.

Lang turned around and noticed that the Pacifists were retreating, too. My-Khanh leapt on the rock she had been standing on, overlooking the scene to make sure no one was left behind. She met their gaze and nodded at them.

“Let’s go.”

 

The instant they had gotten home, My-Khanh had heaved the hugest sigh of relief of her life. Nobody had died, and there were only a few serious wounds. They had done a fantastic job. She wished she could’ve seen the looks on Hanhvy and Khang’s faces. According to Hau, they had been priceless.

She hadn’t seen Quanq-Thieu on the way back, but again, according to Hau, he had looked pretty down. Not very wounded, but down.

And as My-Khanh tended to Lang’s wounds, she noticed they looked pretty angry. Their fur was still rising and their tail flicked left and right. They were also especially fidgety. 

“Keep still, Lang, or I’ll never be able to treat those injuries.”

They growled, but calmed down. Instead they started kneading the ground with their paws, stretching their claws in the meantime.

Then their head jerked around. They hissed and escaped from My-Khanh’s grasp.

“Quanq-Thieu! What the  _ fuck _ what that?”

The big black and yellow cat took a few steps back, his ears flattening against his skull in surprise and fear. Even though he was clearly bigger than Lang, the red cat was fierce. The cats around them stepped back as well, leaving the two facing off.

Quanq-Thieu avoided the scarred cat’s gaze and stared at the ground. He visibly shrank as the other cat snarled again.

“Quanq-Thieu managed to hold Khang to the ground. He was  _ this close _ to sending him home with a lot more scars or worse. But what did he do?” she stepped closer to the other cat and hissed. “He  _ let him go _ !”

Several cats yowled in indignation as they agreed with Lang. 

“You don’t understand!” he protested. “I...I couldn’t do it! I just couldn’t!

\- And why not?”

My-Khanh stepped in, standing as tall as she had back on that rock over the battlefield. The other cats went quiet. 

“Lang, I don’t like what you are insinuating,” she said, her voice firm. “We do not kill cats.

\- I’m not saying he should’ve killed him!” they snapped. “I’m saying he just,” they gestured with their paw. “Knocked him over and then let him go without doing anything! He barely even wounded him!

\- I can’t hurt him!” Quanq-Thieu said again, his tone pleading. “You have to understand that I can’t do that to him!

\- And why not?” My-Khanh asked before Lang hissed again. “Why can’t you hurt Khang?

\- Would  _ you _ hurt Hau if someone asked you to?

\- Of course not, but that’s different, he’s-”

My-Khanh didn’t finish her sentence. She blinked several times, realization dawning on her. And when Lang spoke, even they sounded astounded.

“Khang’s your  _ brother? _ ”

He stood still for a moment, then nodded.

My-Khanh barely had time to think when Lang hissed again.

“Then get out of here! You’re the rebel leader’s brother, you could betray us any moment you want! Maybe you’ve been sneaking off and giving him information about us and we don’t know!”

Quanq-Thieu’s eyes widened, looking visibly horrified.

“I would never do that! I-

\- And how do we know you’re telling the truth?

\- He wouldn’t lie!” Hau suddenly cut in. “He’s honest and he’s on our side and he always has been!

\- Of course _you_ ’d jump to his defence!

\- Stop! All of you!”

My-Khanh’s tail lashed as she stepped between the three quarreling cats. She gave Lang and Hau a hard glare, to which both responded by looking away.

“Lang, I understand your concerns,” she began. “But I believe that if Quanq-Thieu truly was allied with Khang, he would’ve joined him immediately instead of us. If he joined us, there must be a reason.”

She turned her head towards the cat and flicked her tail as a signal for him to continue. 

“I…” he slowly lifted his head. “I never agreed with Khang’s vision of things. He...he always wanted to fight and I didn’t...I wanted to change things but in a way that didn’t require killing people. So he...he promised me he was creating a peaceful rebellion. But when he killed the queen, I...I couldn’t recognize him.” His green eyes clouded with sadness. “I didn’t want any part in the bloodshed he was creating. So he left and I didn’t follow him. That’s...that’s it.”

Murmurs of understanding rose among the gathered cats, although some were still muttering with doubt. My-Khanh nodded.

“I see. I do not doubt your words at all. I trust you and I don’t believe you would ever lie to us. Therefore you can stay with us.”

Lang opened their mouth to protest, but the siamese silenced her with a glare.

“Now, everyone go rest. Make sure your wounds are treated. Eat. We’ve done well today.”

She motioned for Lang to sit down so that she could continue to treat their wounds, and from the corner of her eye she saw the blue and purple figure of Chantrea giving Quanq-Thieu a compassionate nudge.

 

“So...Quanq-Thieu’s a pacifist, huh.”

After going back to the rebel camp, Khang had immediately headed for the flat rock beside the river. He needed some time alone to process what had happened.

Quanq-Thieu had attacked him. His little brother had injured him and had become his enemy. He could barely wrap his head around it.

Kannitha sat down next to him. She looked at him and gave him a playful yet compassionate flick of her tail.

“Hey, it’s okay. At least he’s not dead.”

Khang flinched. He thought he heard a bit of resentment in his friend’s voice, but as he looked at her, her eyes were devoid of that.

“Yes but...now I have to fight against him,” he whispered.

Kannitha looked away.

“He would’ve been your enemy anyway. Tam had you both training in the military, so he likely would’ve ended up on the battlefield one day or another.”

The rebel didn’t reply. What she was saying was true.

“Besides, if he’s with those...Pacifists now, that probably means he’s happier. I mean, anything’s better than your mother, isn’t it?”

Khang let out a little laugh.  _ True. Especially knowing how hard she made his life. _

Kannitha shook herself, and her eyes suddenly grew sad.

“But I understand how that must feel, Khang. I mean, if it was  _ Chantrea _ who had attacked me, I would’ve absolutely lost my shit!”

_ Chantrea. _

Kannitha’s sister and his mate. Who had died at the hands of his family. All because of him. Kannitha had resented him for a long, long time for taking her away. But in the end, they had united to fight against the reason she had been killed: the oppressive caste system, that  made it almost criminal for a kshatriya to have an untouchable as his mate. They both loathed that more than anything. And she had many, many reasons for that, having been born untouchable and therefore living through much more discrimination than he ever had.

And Khang was thankful to have her, Chandra and Thao by his side. 

“Anyway,” she said after a while. “I’m going to Sunkang alone tomorrow. I need to check up on Minh.”

The rebel leader’s ear flicked at the mention of the cat. He was an old friend of hers, and he regularly gave them updates about what went on in the city where he lived on his own.

“Okay. But please be safe. After today’s battle, the place will be swarming with guards.”

She winked at him.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’ve done this all my life. You just stay here and recover. I’m sure Thao and Chandra will help you, if they’re not too busy cuddling.”


	10. Chapter 10

_ One. Two. Three. Four. Five- six. Seven. Eight. Eight. Wait, no, ten. Eleven… _

Thuy was horribly bored. So here he was, counting the cracks in the walls in front of him.

That’s what life was like when you were the High Judge’s apprentice. And when for some obscure reason said judge hated you. You just had to follow him wherever he went and wait outside wherever place he went in. He didn’t know whether that was just because of protocol or because the judge hated him. He didn’t even know why he hated him. He’d come close to believing that was a normal thing, since Tam always treated him and his sisters like shit and Hien did the same thing. But the Grand Priestess, being the sweetest cat in existence, proved him wrong. Thankfully. He really didn’t want to randomly start hating anyone who crossed his path.   
But apparently that was normal in Sokhdom when said anyone belonged to a caste lower than yours. And since Thuy, Miu and Kunthea were all vaishyas in a cesspool of kshatriyas, that was just their daily life.

Come to think of it, maybe that was the reason why Hien hated him so much.

He didn’t really know, and he didn’t really want to find out why. Something told him it was a ridiculous reason.

So here he was, waiting outside a library in a vaishya neighbourhood. Well, technically it was the place where every file relating to administration and justice in Sokhdom went, but everyone liked to call it a library just to pretend there was one outside of that one in the middle of the untouchable neighbourhood. Thuy stifled a laugh. He’d never see Hien around those places. He had never really hidden his disgust towards the lower castes. It was pretty sad. His life boiled down to making others miserable out of spite. Especially him.

Thuy didn’t like Hien much either.

He suddenly felt strange. As if he were being watched. He remained frozen for a moment. He was scared of looking around, in case whatever was watching him suddenly jumped at him. But he eventually dared. He scanned his surroundings. Then he saw one cat who was lying on a brick wall and staring at him with wide, surprised eyes. She was tall, with long, pale blue fur and a thin frame, and a scarily huge patch of reddened skin on one side of her neck.

_ That’s...a big fucking burn mark. I don’t even want to know what caused it. Or how she survived it. _

It was weird. She looked strangely familiar. But he couldn’t really place why.

“Uh...hello?”

His voice came out higher than he’d expected. Probably because he was kind of scared of that cat.  _ Oh spirits don’t let see I’m scared. _

The cat blinked, as if Thuy’s words had snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, um, hi. Hi there.”

Silence.

“Can I...help you?”

The cat wouldn’t stop staring at him. It was  _ so weird. _ What did she want? Did she want to talk to him? To kidnap him? To kill him?

Was she a rebel?

_ Probably only rebels can survive things like that huge burn of hers. _

“Uh...maybe.”

Thuy angled his ears towards her, a sign that he was listening.

“Who’s your mother? What’s her name?”

_ My mother? What? What kind of question is that? _

“I...I don’t really remember her. Why?”

Which was partly true. He still remembered what she looked like. He just didn’t remember her name. She had always been  _ Mama _ to him and his sisters. From what he recalled, he looked like her the most. He was less purple than she was, but he still looked the most similar. Kunthea was too brown and Miu was completely brown, so that was that. He did still remember how soft her fur was and how comfortable and safe he had felt when he was still just a kitten.

And he still remembered how Tam, apparently his grandmother, had kicked her out. How she had suddenly decided, one day, that they didn’t need her anymore. And he still remembered how shattered Miu and Kunthea had been. They’d both been inconsolable for weeks. He, too, had felt that way, but one of them had to stay alert, especially when they were left with their brute of a grandmother for their only family.

He doubted that his mother was Tam’s daughter though: they were vastly different in every way. So Thuy guessed Tam was his father’s mother. He’d never known his father. He’d been killed by the rebel leader, Khang. His nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought of the rebel. It was partly his fault that he was in such a terrible situation today. If he had had a dad, maybe Tam wouldn’t have kicked his mum out.

The pale blue cat blinked slowly, then shook herself.

“No reason.”   
And just like that, she whipped around and vanished behind the wall.

_ Well...that was weird. _

“Thuy. Move. We’re leaving.”

Thuy’s  _ delightful _ mentor stepped out of the building with a bag of files slung over his shoulder. He took them off and tossed them to his apprentice.

“Take these.”

And he walked ahead without waiting for a response. Thuy muttered a low ‘yes sir’ and bent down to pick up the bag. 

_ Urgh. Heavy. _

He trotted behind the pale grey cat, trying his best to not make his panting too obvious. If he made too much noise, Hien would find a way to punish him for being a nuisance or something. He’d find the dumbest reasons to punish him. And Thuy couldn’t do anything to avoid that. Because after all, who cared for the wellbeing of a lowly vaishya, when he already had the  _ great privilege _ of studying with the High Judge?

He only realized way later that day that the cat he had met looked an awful lot like Hien.

 

Another day, another training session for all the young guards and soldiers.

And another training session meant another long, long afternoon of Tam yelling at everyone. Hanhvy’s ears almost stung every time she heard the huge cat’s voice across the room. She had been especially irritable these days, and she had been taking it out on anyone who stepped out of line. It was frankly annoying. 

“Everyone round up.”

Hanhvy and Mliss exchanged a look at the marshall’s call. Mliss rolled her eyes. This was one of her least favourite exercises, because Tam got to pick two trainees and have them fight each other while everyone else watched. And then the marshall got to humiliate whichever cat lost. A fantastic exercise, truly.

Hanhvy hurried to sit between the guard and Sovann, who had joined them today because the Chancellor had requested it. He wasn’t particularly happy about it, since he already got personal training from Mliss and Tam frequently misgendered him on purpose.

The more time passed, the more the purple cat realized that the marshall was even more loathable than she thought.

The huge brown and white cat scanned the gathered cats through narrowed green eyes. Her gaze landed on Hanhvy. She beckoned her forward with her thick tail. Then she turned around and called another cat without hesitating. She then walked out of the way to reveal Hanhvy’s opponent, who was none other than Miu, the small pale brown cat who trained to be a priestess guard.

_ Tam’s favourite cat to bully. _

The lavender cat was small, but the other cat was slightly shorter. Even though they were  _ almost _ matched in size, Hanhvy was older and stronger than Miu who was quite literally a teenager. The odds were clearly not in Miu’s favour.

_ I think I’ll let her win.  _

Mliss had told her many times how hard the little cat worked. Despite her rather aggressive and uncooperative personality, she had never,  _ ever _ been late to anything and was almost always the winner in any fights against her fellow priestess guard trainees. And in spite of that, the marshall continued to pick on her. It was ridiculous.

“Fight,” Tam ordered.

Miu instantly launched herself at Hanhvy. The latter ducked, but she was too slow and got hit square in the face. She stumbled backwards as the little cat struck her several times with incredible speed.

_ Wow, she really  _ is _ good. I don’t even need to let her win. _

The purple cat countered by leaping towards Miu, but she swiftly rolled out of the way and barreled into her opponent’s flank, unbalancing her. They rolled away and when they stopped, Hanhvy had been pinned to the ground.

She smiled up at the winner, who blinked in surprise. She thought she saw the shadow of a smile on her face when it was suddenly cut off by yelling.

“Miu! How  _ dare _ you get your  _ filthy _ paws on the heir princess! Get off of her!”

The pale brown cat was promptly flung off the long-furred cat, who only stared at the marshall with a mixture of shock and perplexity. She got up slowly and looked at Mliss, who returned her glance with the same emotions.

“Uh, excuse me,” Hanhvy cut Tam off as she had started yelling at Miu. “When exactly did you start caring about my status?”

Gasps rose from the other trainees. Luong’s brow arched, An-Toan gave her a disapproving glare through narrowed eyes and she swore she saw Sovann fighting to conceal a smile. 

Tam whipped around, the fur on her neck rising.

“ _ Excuse me? _

\- She’s right though,” Mliss cut in, stepping forward. “You never use that excuse when anyone else fights her.

\- And what exactly are you getting at, General?”

The marshall stomped closer to Mliss, who stared up at her defiantly. The dark brown and white cat didn’t flinch as the other bared her teeth.

“I’m saying this isn’t about Hanhvy. It’s about-

\- Stop! Who cares about that?”

Every head jerked towards Miu as she yelled. She had stood back up and her tail was lashing as her fur spiked in anger.

“Miu,” Mliss meowed, “We care, because-

\- You shouldn’t care! Stop it!”

Everyone went quiet as the little cat glared at everyone who met her gaze.

Then An-Toan stepped forward.

“Princess Hanhvy, I know the marshall’s actions are surprising to you, but she, as well as all of us, are always concerned about your safety. We are under direct orders from the King to not let any harm come to you.”

The purple cat narrowed her eyes. Sure, but the massive brown and white cat had never seemed to care before today. 

“As for you, General,” he said to Mliss. “I am aware that Miu is your student, but this is Marshall Tam’s exercise. Therefore you should not interfere with it and let her handle this.”

Hanhvy thought she saw fear in Miu’s eyes for a moment, but her frown reappeared as Tam stared at her for a long, long moment.

Then the marshall whipped her tail.

“Next. You and you, fight.”

An-Toan went back to his seat without a word. Mliss grunted, then walked back to where she had been sitting. Hanhvy followed her, and saw that Miu had decided to sit farther away from the circle of cats, her fur still pricking angrily. Maybe she had done that to hide in the crowd and make Tam forget about her.

 

“I cannot fucking stand that cat. Wow.

\- Tam again?

\- Of course, who else?”

Mliss had flopped down beside her sister as the three had headed back to Hanhvy’s room after training. Sopheary had already been waiting there, and she had even brought food.

_ Bless her soul. She’s so nice. _

Sovann sat on the priestess’ other side and they smiled at each other warmly as their eyes met. The purple cat narrowed her eyes: she was certain that she saw a flushed colour tinting both cats’ cheeks. She glanced at Mliss with a raised eyebrow, asking ‘ _ are these two…?’ _ to which the dark brown and white cat replied with a mighty roll of her eyes and a look that meant ‘ _ no, and they’re so oblivious it drives me insane _ ’. Hanhvy smirked. Then that smirk vanished.

She knew what the two cats were feeling. And it obviously led her thoughts back to  _ her. _

Mliss noticed the sudden change in her mood.

“Hanhvy, what’s wrong?”

The other two glanced at the princess as well, worry sparkling in their eyes.

“Oh, oh no don’t worry it’s nothing serious!” She meowed quickly. “It’s just…”

She sat down and sighed.

“Mliss, remember that siamese cat who came in in the middle of that battle the other day?”   
Her friend’s ears perked up.

“Sure I do.

\- Well, um...she was my ex.”

All three cats’ eyes went wide.

“You mean, that was My-Khanh?

\- My-Khanh,” Sovann meowed, “as in General An-Toan’s daughter?

\- Wait,” Sopheary put in. “The one who fled with her brother?

\- Yes, yes and yes,” Hanhvy replied. “The one and only.”

Her friends stared at her for a while, surprise painting their features.

“Do you, by any chance, know why she left?” Sopheary asked. 

“No,” the princess replied. Her face turned sad. “We broke up right before that happened. And I do mean right before. It happened, and then she left.”

The priestess let out a sad meow and walked up to her friend. She wrapped her thick tail around the princess, who laid her head on her shoulder.

“It’s fine though,” Hanhvy said. “I’m over it.”   
Sovann’s head tilted to the side.

“Are you, though? I heard rumours about you guys ending it on a sour note. And from your tone, you don’t really sound over it.”

The purple cat sent her friend a sharp glance and he flinched.

_ There are rumours about me and My-Khanh? Oh fantastic. _

Mliss, who had been lying on the floor like a melted piece of cheese, suddenly sat up. Hanhvy followed her gaze and turned around to see An-Toan standing in the doorway, his tail waving left and right. 

“I am sorry to interrupt, but his Eminence the Chancellor wishes to see you, Sovann.”

The chancellor’s son flinched at the general’s words. He stood up, gave his friends an apologetic glance and trotted out of the room. The siamese watched him go, then his narrowed blue gaze turned to Hanhvy.

“As for you, Princess Hanhvy, the King wishes to see you.”

The purple cat’s eyebrows arched. She hadn’t seen her father much these past few days, between the battles, training and his own duties. But the little times she  _ had _ seen him, he had looked particularly angry about something. Maybe that was why he wanted to see her?

She had a feeling this was about what she had overheard the other day. And it meant no good.

She excused herself and left Mliss and Sopheary in her room. They told her they’d be waiting here for her to come back, to which she had replied with a friendly flick of her tail. A growing feeling of nervousness tugged at her belly as she got closer to the throne room, where An-Toan had indicated. And as she stepped in it, the heavy atmosphere almost crushed her.

Quan-Van was pacing back and forth around the huge golden throne, and a little distance away from him sat Tuyet, who was staring at her husband worryingly. She gave the princess the same look.

_ Oh no. That can’t be good. _

“Quan-Van dear, Hanhvy is here,” the golden cat meowed, sounding extra nice.

The dark pink cat whipped around, frowning, and his orange gaze grew cold as he looked at his daughter. She felt a chill running down her spine.

_ What’s going on? _

“So, Hanhvy...as you know, Vanna still isn’t back.”

_ Oh. Oh no. _

“And, um...your father, well...He-

\- Spit it out, Hanhvy,” he suddenly snarled. “You made her leave! You’re the one who pushed her to join the rebels!”

So this was  _ absolutely _ about what she’d overheard. 

And  _ wow _ , this was such a ridiculous conclusion.

“Absolutely not! Why would I even do that?

\- Of course you would never, dear,” Tuyet hurriedly put in. “It’s just that-

\- You would do that,” he ignored his wife, “because you secretly agree with them! You hate the castes, just like them!”

Her fur suddenly bushed up, she tried to say something but her father would not let her speak.

“And of course, you’ve put on this façade of hating them. So directly joining them would harm that and made your whole reputation crumble, so instead of that you just decided to put Vanna in danger and send her to the rebels instead! Do you even  _ realize _ what you’ve done? She might be dead as we speak just because of your selfish beliefs!”

She could not believe what she was hearing. How could he say that, when he knew more than anyone how much she  _ loathed _ the rebels’ guts? After their leader had murdered her mother in cold blood,  _ right in front of her _ ?

“Do you even  _ listen _ to yourself?” she shouted. “I would  _ never _ send Vanna to the rebels because, for one, I  _ hate _ them, and for two, I would never put Vanna in danger! And you  _ know  _ that! Why would I agree with the rebels after what they did to Mum?  _ You _ should know! Oh wait, but you never really cared for her, did you? After all, you did marry  _ her _ ,” she gestured to Tuyet, “barely  _ two weeks _ after my mother died!”

The golden cat flinched.

“Don’t bring Tuyet into this!

\- And you know what? I know who put this into your head!” Hanhvy continued. “It’s Sahn, and I still have no idea why you trust him! He stuffs this shit into your head and you believe for who knows what reason!

\- I trust the Chancellor because he is smart and wise, Hanhvy!” the king snarled. “And because unlike you, he isn’t swayed by his own selfish motives!”

Hanhvy highly doubted that.

But she was so furious that she didn’t find the words to reply. She lashed her tail several times, staring into her father’s eyes, then whipped around and ran out of the room. She heard Quan-Van calling her, but she didn’t stop.

A moment later she had exited the Palace. And another moment later, as the sun set over the kingdom, she was out of Sunkang and heading for the mountains beside the Khuam province.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heheheheheheeh. tomorrows the last chapter of the kilbisam bomb!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayyy last chapter of the kilbisam bomb!!!

My-Khanh woke up pretty early that day. The sky was paling with the first rays of sunlight as she prodded her brother awake with a paw. He let out an enormous yawn and blinked sleepily.

“What is it? Why are you waking me up so early?

\- It’s today, remember?”

He stared at his sister with a puzzled look for an instant, then his eyes widened.

“Oh! Right! I almost forgot!”

He scrambled to his feet, accidentally kicking a sleeping Vanna in the process, and started washing himself. The golden cat woke up with a yelp and glared at the siamese cat.

“Hey! I was sleeping!

\- Apologies, Vanna,” My-Khanh apologized. “We just have somewhere to go, and Hau completely forgot.”

The princess stretched her legs and arched her back, then sat up.

“Where are you guys going? Can I come?”

The siblings exchanged a glance that meant ‘ _ should we tell her? _ ’. They held each other’s gaze for a moment, then Hau nodded and My-Khanh turned to face Vanna.

“Well...you see, today is the anniversary of...our mother’s death.”

The little cat’s eyes widened in shock. Now she almost regretted asking the question.

“And on that day, we always visit the Cave of Souls.

\- The Cave of Souls?” she echoed. “Is that that one place where spirits show up and stuff?

\- Yes, it is.”

Vanna nodded in understanding.

Ever since they had settled in Khuam, the two cats had gone to the Cave of Souls in an attempt to contact their mother’s spirit, just so that they could talk to her one more time and see her face. But they had always failed. Mostly because the only ones who were truly able to see spirits were the Priestesses. They had gone out of their way to go to the Cave on an eclipse day, the only time where spirits could be visible to everyone, but had still failed to see their mother.

That didn’t stop them from trying.

“Have you ever been to the Cave of Souls?” Hau asked. His sister gave him a nudge for him to finish washing himself, to which he replied with a smile and rolling eyes.

“Well...I’m pretty curious but I mean...I don’t want to intrude!” the princess meowed. “This is a really personal moment for you guys.

\- It’s alright,” My-Khanh replied with a smile. “We would love to have you tagging along.”

She smiled, her ears perking up in joy.

 

The Cave of Souls truly was a beautiful place.

My-Khanh and Hau never grew tired of its sight. Despite the long trek across the Khuam jungle and the climb in the mountains, the cave was a sight to behold. It was located on top of a mountain of average height, facing the jungle. The Royal Palace could also be seen in the distance, as well as the walls of Sunkang City. There was a smooth path that led cats from the city directly to the cave, but for cats like them who came from Khuam, it was a little harder since there was no clear path. But the siamese siblings, being used to that, found that rather easy. And once they stepped into the cave, they felt a wave of calm warmth washing over them. There were lanterns hanging from the ceiling, giving off a soft blue light that reverberated against the stone walls. But the brightest light came out of the very back of the cave. There was a dip in the floor that gave way to a wide pool of pure water that shone with the same blue light as the lanterns.

“Wow,” Vanna whispered. “The water  _ glows? _

\- It does,” My-Khanh replied. “That’s what sets it apart from the other bodies of water. It’s a distinct sign that this is a passageway between the spirit realm and our world.”

The golden cat didn’t reply. She simply stared at everything around her, awestruck, her wide eyes sparkling. 

Hau sat down a distance away from the edge of the pool. His ears lowered, and My-Khanh could feel sadness coming off of him. She sat next to her brother and wrapped her tail around him. He looked up at her and smiled sadly. She returned the smile. Here, the two of them felt strangely safe. Like all of their problems and the war didn’t exist anymore. Hau laid his head on his sister’s shoulder and breathed deeply. 

My-Khanh’s ears pricked as she picked up a sound.

Quick pawsteps.

Someone was running towards the cave. 

She sniffed the air.

_ Fuck _ .

Her eyes flickered to a small shadow at the back of the cave. This was a hidden cave on the wall on the other side of the pool. Hau had already spotted it multiple times. They had always spent the night there when they came. She quickly called her brother and her friend.

“Quick, in that cave! Someone’s coming!”

 

Hanhvy only slowed down as she entered the Cave of Souls. She stopped at the edge of the pool, letting the water lap at her paws. She closed her eyes, trying to ease her breathing back to normal, which was no easy feat since she had been running for a while.

The princess had left Sunkang last evening and had spent the night at the edge of the Khuam province. She had been scared that a Pacifist patrol would spot her, but thankfully that didn’t happen. She had slept for barely a few hours and awoke as the sun was rising. And then she had run towards the mountains.

Whenever something upsetting happened to her, she came here. She knew she couldn’t see her mother’s ghost, since she had decided to become a soldier and not a priestess, but she hoped that she was here nonetheless. That she watched over her daughter, and that she comforted her even if she couldn’t hear her or feel her presence. It felt nice.

She took a few deep breaths.

_ In. Out. In. Out. Breathe. _

“Hi Mum,” she meowed out loud. “I don’t know what happened to Dad. He went off on me, saying I  _ sent _ Vanna away to the rebels. That’s...that’s completely fucking stupid. I’d never send her to the cats who killed you.” She felt tears welling up in her eyes and her throat felt tight. “I don’t want to lose her like I lost you.”

She shut her eyes, refusing to let tears stream down her face.

“I miss you, Mum. I wish you were still here. Everything would be so much simpler.”

Her ears pricked as she heard something scraping the ground.

“Who’s there?” she said in a louder voice.

She sniffed the air.

“Hanhvy. I knew you would be here.”

Hanhvy whipped around and found herself face to face with her father. He scanned her fur, which was messy from the trek. A few leaves were stuck here and there, and she smelled of the jungle. He snorted.

“You smell of Sogan. So you  _ did _ send Vanna there.”

The fur along the lavender cat’s spine rose.

_ He trained as a soldier, but he can’t tell the difference between the scents of Sogan and Khuam? _

“I didn’t go to Sogan. I spent the night in Khuam. You should know that.

\- Why should I?” he growled. “ _I_ don’t waste my time going around getting friendly with those rebels.

\- Oh for fuck’s sake, stop that! I told you over and over, I  _ did not _ and I  _ will never _ send anyone I love to the rebels, and  _ much less _ take their side!”

_ What the fuck did Sahn make you believe? _

Like her father, she hadn’t seen the Chancellor in days. Who knew what he’d been telling the King. Who knew what kind of astronomically stupid things he’d said to him to get him to believe what he wanted. Who knew what kind of things he’d said to pit him against his own daughter. Whatever he had said, it had changed Hanhvy’s warm, loving father into a cold cat she did not recognize. 

She was almost afraid of him.

“Hanhvy, just admit you did it,” Quan-Van said, sounding almost tired. “There’s no need for such resistance. You could just admit it and tell us where you took your little sister, so that we can retrieve her and take her back to the safety of our home.”

Hanhvy hissed, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

_ Does he really think I’m so heartless? _

“Again, I  _ did not  _ do that! This is all made up stuff that Sahn told you to believe!”

The dark pink cat let out a low growl, and his fur rose. In a matter of seconds, he had doubled in size.

“Enough! The Chancellor knows better than to lie to me, Hanhvy! He’s been nothing but faithful to me  _ and _ to your mother! And most important of all, he  _ knows _ what you did!”

Hanhvy was this close to sobbing.

“I didn’t do it, Dad!” she cried out. “Please,  _ please, _ I’m begging you, please believe me!”

A second later her head was slammed against the hard stone floor. She felt a taste of iron in her mouth and opened her eyes to see her father’s snarling face. Claws out, he struck her across the face. The blazing pain caused Hanhvy to scream, and her father dug his teeth into her neck fur to silence her. She felt panic rising in her chest, and she kicked at his face with her front paws, instantly forgetting all of her battle skills. The king backed away for an instant, and his daughter leapt at him in an attempt to unbalance him. She clung to his head, the blood from her injuries on her face dripping on her father’s, making him scream. He kicked her away, sending her flying through the cave. She collided with the wall with a loud  _ thump _ , and fell to the ground, the world spinning around her.

Meanwhile the King was blinded by his daughter’s blood. His vision was blocked by the thick red liquid. He tried to walk towards the pool, hoping to wash his face there, but his movements were made clumsy because of the messy mixture of emotions in his stomach. His paw got caught in a dip and he tripped to his side. His head hit a particularly sharp rock, and after a weak yowl, his body went still.

Hanhvy stumbled to her feet, her breath coming in short, quick pants. Her claws slid in and out of her paws in an attempt to steady her breathing, and she slowly managed to go back to a normal rhythm. Her legs were still shaking uncontrollably, but at least she could walk. As she regained consciousness of her surroundings, she noticed the cave was awfully quiet. A feeling of dread washed over her. She scanned the cave, her vision still a little unfocused. 

And her eyes landed on the very still body of her father, lying beside the pool.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out for a moment.

“...Father?”

She walked towards the king slowly, very slowly. And as she reached the dark pink cat, she prodded him softly.

And her paw was immediately met with numbing cold.

She didn’t know whether the wail she heard was her own.

She immediately bolted out of the cave.

 

My-Khanh couldn’t hold Vanna back any longer. She burst out of their hiding spot and curled up beside her dead father, sobbing uncontrollably. Hau looked at his sister with wide eyes, pure shock painted on his face.

“What...happened?”

_ I have no idea. _

She couldn’t process it either.

They had only heard the whole scene, pressed against each other in their little cave. If only they had seen what had happened, they would’ve gotten more answers.

But now, they were stuck here with their King’s dead body. And his daughter possibly having killed him.

_ Hanhvy...did you really kill your father? _

My-Khanh didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want to believe that the cat she once loved had been capable of such a thing.

...the cat she still loved.

The siamese siblings came out of the little cave and stood there for a moment, their paws in the glowing water, staring at the golden princess who was still sobbing in her father’s pink fur.

For a moment, it felt like the world had stopped.

“Vanna, we…” she whispered, her voice husky. “We’d better go. Before anyone comes in and accuses us of murdering the King.

\- But,” she sniffed, her face drowned in tears, “we- we can’t- we can’t leave him like this! What- what’s going to- to happen to him? What if- the rebels found him? And they- they dumped his body in- in the river? What if-

\- Vanna,” My-Khanh cut in, her voice pleading. “Please. The rebels don’t come here. We  _ have  _ to leave.”

Hau walked up to the sobbing cat and nudged her away from the corpse gently. Her pale golden fur was stained with blood as she pulled away.

_ Now  _ whose _ blood is that? _

Her brother led Vanna towards the exit and as they stood in the entrance, he looked back at his sister, who was still standing in the pool.

She stared ahead, her gaze distant.

She so desperately wanted to find something to say. Something that would help free her mind from the doubt of what lay ahead. 

But nothing came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THERE IT IS: THE FIRST DEATH OF KILBISAM
> 
> with that, the kilbisam bomb is over!! thank you to everyone who followed it!!  
> i've already written the next chapters, but from now on i will be writing more chapters in advance so that i can have a better posting schedule! shit's about to go down from here, so stay tuned for the next chapters >:3c

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave kudos or a comment if you liked this chapter!
> 
> I'm also on Twitter (@rainbowhelianth), Instagram (rainbowhelianthi), Youtube (rainbowhelianthi) and Discord (rainbowhelianthi#7145)!


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